


We'll Take on the World

by littleluthor



Category: Supergirl (TV 2015)
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, F/F, Maybe a little angst, honestly i have no idea what this is, its my first fic im winging it, there will be smut, with a happy ending of course
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-27
Updated: 2018-04-04
Packaged: 2018-12-20 17:21:19
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 17
Words: 53,233
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11925606
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/littleluthor/pseuds/littleluthor
Summary: After graduating from high school a year early, Lena heads off to NCU on her own, finally free from the clutches of the Luthor family for the time being, to start the next chapter of her life. She quickly falls for the first friend that she's had for a very long time, and finds herself opening up to the warm blonde stranger who seemingly radiates warmth and kindness and everything that Lena's life has been lacking up until this point.





	1. Chapter 1

 

The Saturday before classes begin found an exhausted seventeen year old Lena Luthor sitting quietly in the corner of one of the coffee shops on campus. It was a small place, hidden away in the corner of the grounds near the science building. The place in itself was small, but surprisingly busy considering its location and she’d struggled to locate somewhere to sit down. She’d just placed her order up at the counter when a couple left and she made a beeline for the table.

 

Lena was all but drowning in her over-sized NCU sweatshirt, to anyone walking by she must’ve looked like a large gray lump hiding away in the corner, face completely buried in a book as she sipped her coffee.

 

She had spent the entire previous day moving into the apartment that she would be living in for the next four years. It was a nice place, more than satisfactory for a typical college student. While the apartment in itself was beyond modest for someone of Lena's wealth, she still had her own joint living and kitchen area, complete with a washer and dryer. Her bathroom had both an impressively roomy shower and she had even managed to proudly assemble her own ridiculously large bed in her bedroom and still have space to move around. All in all, the apartment was more than enough for her.

 

Lena was excited about the prospect of a new start, finally free from the clutches of the Luthor family for the time being. Free to be her own person without the significance of her last name looming over her, and she felt an overwhelming sense of pride knowing she’d done it all by herself.

 

Lillian Luthor hadn’t so much as batted an eye when she was made aware of her daughter graduating an entire year early from high school. She barely paid any attention to the revelation that her daughter had been accepted into National City University to major in biochemistry. No, all Lillian Luthor cared about was her precious baby Lex, her pride and joy, who had just taken over the family company.

 

Not that this had been a shock to Lena, she hadn’t expected anything from her mother for a long time, not since her father had passed away.

 

But this, this was her fresh start.

 

Lena had been so caught up in her book that she hadn’t noticed the seat across from her at the table had now been filled. She felt her breath catch in her throat as she glanced up.

 

A mess of loose blonde curls framed the face of the most adorable girl Lena had ever seen. She wore glasses, similar to Lena’s, that were slipping down her nose ever so slightly and she, too, had her nose buried in a book. Although she didn’t seem to be enjoying it like Lena did- a peek at the cover clued her in as to why.  _Fundamentals of Physics._  She must be trying to get a head start before classes begin on Monday, Lena thought.

 

 Lena hadn’t realized she’d been staring until the girl looked up and flashed her a warm smile before she began to ramble.

 

“Hi.. Sorry.. I meant to ask.. I don’t usually just steal other people’s tables, it’s just you seemed so..” the girl gestured her hand around in Lena’s direction. “In your own little bubble I didn’t want to intrude and there were no other seats. I can move. Sorry again.” the blonde finished as she closed her book and made to stand up.

 

“Oh no, please, it’s quite alright.” Lena rushed out as she sat more upright in the chair, smiling at the flustered blonde rambling away in front of her.

 

“Are you sure?” she asked. Her hand shot up nervously to adjust her glasses.

 

Lena isn’t sure why she was so willing to let her stay, had it been anyone else she probably would’ve let them leave, but there was something about the perfect blonde stranger standing before her that she was inexplicably drawn to .

 

“Of course I’m sure.” Lena smiled back. “Please.” she gestured to the seat.

 

“Thank you.” She flashed Lenaanother smile. “I’m Kara, by the way. Kara Danvers.” Kara extended a hand out to Lena and stepped back in front of the chair.

 

“Lena” she said, taking Kara’s hand in her own and attempting to match the warmth in Kara’s smile with her own.

 

“So, is this your first year?” Kara asked as she sat back down.

 

“It is. Yours?” Lena replied, closing her book and picking up her coffee.

 

“Yeah and I’m _ _already__ stressing about physics.” she said, dramatically throwing her forehead down onto her book, earning a laugh from Lena.

 

They fell into an easy conversation, neither one of them realizing that almost an hour had passed. Lena couldn’t remember a time in her life when she had felt so at ease, conversation typically didn’t come easy to her and yet here she was, laughing and joking along with a pretty blonde girl she’d just met in a coffee shop.

 

They spoke about their classes, she even offered to help tutor Kara should she need it when classes actually begin and Kara eagerly accepted. Lena talked about how she was excited to be starting at a new school and Kara was blown away when she found out that she’d graduated a year early.

 

“So you’re what.. Like some kind of genius?” she teased, a look of amusement on her face as Lena laughed.

 

“You could say that.” She shrugged, raising one of her eyebrows suggestively as she took a sip of her coffee.

 

“Kara! There you are!” A voice sounded throughout the tiny coffee store, interrupting them before Kara could say anything else. “I’ve been looking all over for you.”

 

A girl with shoulder length brown hair came bounding over to them before placing a hand on Kara’s shoulder. Lena guessed from the ease at which she presented herself that Kara must know this girl quite well.

 

“Oh hey, Maggie this is Lena. Lena, this is my sister’s girlfriend Maggie.” Kara said, smiling widely as she gestured between them. “Sorry, I guess time got away from me.” She blushed as she looked over at Lena.

 

The girl, Maggie as she had been introduced, smiled as she looked suspiciously between the two for a second before not so subtly sending a wink off in Kara's direction.

 

“Pleased to meet you, Lena.” Maggie extended a hand out before smirking at Kara, who’s face flushed pink as she looked away.

 

“I’m sorry but I have to go.” Kara flashed Lena an apologetic smile, cheeks still tinged with pink. “But oh hey, there’s that party thing tonight, if you wanna maybe go, you know.. with me?” she offered a little shyly, fidgeting with her glasses once again. “I mean- only if you want to. You don’t have to or anythin-”

 

“I’d love to” Lena interrupted her rambling, putting her out of her misery before Kara could go on.

 

She had heard about the party from a few other people she’d bumped into throughout the day. From what she’d gathered it was just the typical ‘get to know your peers before classes begin’ type of thing. She hadn’t planned on going but suddenly the prospect of going with Kara was extremely appealing.

 

Before Kara could say anything else, Maggie plucked her phone from the table and handed it to Lena.

 

 “Here, put your number in, she’ll text you.” Maggie winked and gently nudged Kara, who shot her a scowl before looking apologetically back at Lena who had absolutely no idea what was happening.

 

 She typed her number in and said goodbye to Kara with a promise to see her at the party later that evening. She watched as Maggie hooked an arm around Kara’s neck and pulled her down playfully as they walked away.

 

 “Nice job, little Danvers.”

 

 “Shut up.” Kara pulled away and playfully swatted at Maggie’s arm.

 

 If her first day here was anything to go on, Lena was sure the next four years were certainly going to be interesting.

 


	2. Chapter 2

 

 

  
Lena was unable to get back into her book after Kara left, all she could think about was the fact that she would be seeing the bubbly blonde again in just a matter of hours, and she was suddenly painfully aware of how awful she looked. Her hair was thrown up loosely in a messy bun, it hadn’t been washed for a few days seeing as she had been so busy with moving and all of the chaos that accompanied it. She was wearing her glasses instead of her usual contacts and she was dressed messily in what she could only describe as homeless chic. She couldn’t comprehend the fact that Kara had even sat down near her in the first place.

 She closed her book and tucked it securely under her arm before grabbing her half finished coffee cup from the table and began the short walk back to her apartment, determined to look no less than her very best tonight. Honestly, she’s not even entirely sure of why she cared so much.  _She’s just trying to be a friend, Lena_.  She wasn’t the type to make friends so easily, but she had also never come across anyone as easy to speak to as Kara was. She wasn’t sure where it would go, but she was sure of the fact that the bubbling blonde definitely seemed like someone that she wanted to get to know, friend or otherwise.

Lena deposited her things on the counter in the kitchen when she arrived back at her apartment. She spent a little time tidying up and organizing some of her things. She had unpacked the basics but she still had boxes strewn everywhere and they were already irritating her. She knew if she was going to the party then she would need something to wear, so with a few hours left until she had to get ready, she began unpacking and putting away all of her clothes.

It wasn’t until she was in the shower a little while later that Lena’s music cut off, the steady beat of the base being replaced by the sound of her ringtone. No one ever called her, and her mind immediately went to Kara as she dove out of the shower, hair soapy and dripping a path of water all over the floor as she ran over to the counter where her phone was resting. Completely ignoring the fact that she was butt naked and now shivering, Lena quickly dried her hand on one of the little hand towels on the rack before anxiously hitting answer and bringing the phone up to her ear. 

“Hello, this is Lena speaking.” she said with as much ease as she could possibly muster.

 

“Do you always answer the phone like you’re talking to the president?” the voice on the other end teased with a laugh. Yep, it was Kara.

 

“Shut up.” Lena breathed a laugh. “I hardly ever talk to anyone on the phone, and when I do it’s usually in a professional environment, a business call, so yes I always answer the phone like I’m talking to the president.”

 

“Well.. this isn’t a business phone call.” Kara began before trailing off. “This is strictly pleasure.” she teased cheekily and Lena felt her face heat up.

“I’m guessing you’re calling about the party?” she ventured.

 ”Yeah, I was thinking that maybe we could meet outside of Noonan’s, only if that works for you I mean, and then we could walk there together so that if we get lost then at least we’re not alone, ya know?” Kara offered up eagerly.

 

“Noonan’s?” Lena questioned, wrapping an arm around herself in an attempt to fight off the cold air currently enveloping her without the warmth of the water to fight it off.

 

“The coffee shop, genius. Don’t tell me you forgot already.” Kara feigned hurt as she laughed. “You know, cute little place, sells coffee, I got your number there?”

 

“Oh, right, yeah, of course.” Lena replied. “Sorry, there’s only so much information even my genius brain can retain at once.” She joked, earning a cute little breathy laugh from Kara.

 

“So I’ll see you at eight?” Kara asked eagerly.

 

“Why? Did we have plans or something?” Lena teased playfully.

 

“Shut up.” Kara laughed once more. “I can’t tell if you’re kidding or if you have dory disease.”

 

“What the hell is Dory disease?” she asked curiously.

 

“You know, Dory from Finding Nemo? She forgets everything.” Kara explained.

 

“I’ll see you at eight. Outside of Noonan’s. Where we will walk to the party.” Lena clarified. “No Dory disease here.”

 

“Okay good, I’ll see you then.” a laugh sounded on the other end of the line.

 

“Okay, cool.”

 

“Bye, Lena.”

 

“Goodbye, Kara.”

 

Lena hung up and set her phone back down on the counter where it had been before Kara had called. She was beyond thankful that she was currently alone and that no one could see the ridiculously large smile currently gracing her face. She hadn’t felt so excited about anything in a long time and she happily made her way back to the shower, being extra careful not to slip on any of the water that she had gotten all over the floor on her way over to the phone, before she finished up washing her hair.

Once she had dried and straightened her hair, Lena found herself nervously fussing over her outfit in the large mirror in her room. She had picked out a pair of black denim high waisted jeans and paired them with an off the shoulder black shirt and her favorite pair of chucks. She looked good, and normally she would know that she looked good, but she had never felt so insecure. _Should I change? Should I wear a dress? Does this necklace look dumb?_

She stood there for another ten minutes and, after a back and forth battle with herself about whether or not she should change, she eventually decided on staying in her current clothes. She headed into the bathroom to apply her makeup, usually she would apply it in her room but the lighting at the bathroom mirror was the best in the entire apartment and she wasn’t willing to take any risks tonight. She had to look good.

 

Lena applied a little eye makeup, nothing too over the top but just enough to give her a bost of confidence, before opting for a darker lip and covering the little red blemishes on her skin with concealer. When she was finally satisfied with how she looked, she sprayed some of her favorite perfume onto herself and grabbed her phone and some cash before heading out the door.

The warm autumn breeze softly blew through her hair as she made her way towards Noonan’s. She powered through the anxiety gnawing at her chest as she took in her surroundings in an attempt to calm herself. The sun was just beginning to set, casting a warm orange glow around the campus. The leaves were a variety of different colors, shades of reds and oranges and greens and browns littered the ground as well as the trees. They crunched lightly beneath her sneakers as she walked and she found comfort in the consistent sound of it.

 Barely ten minutes had passed when she found herself approaching the now closed coffee shop. She could see Kara waving enthusiastically at her from the front of the doors and Lena couldn’t help the smile that forced it’s way onto her face as she took in the sight. Kara was dressed in a beautiful light pink mid thigh length dress with spaghetti straps and her lightly curled golden tresses flowed down her back so effortlessly that, for the second time that day, caused Lena’s breath to catch in her throat.

 

“Lena hi!” she called out happily as Lena got closer.

 

“Hi” Lena continued to smile as she approached.

 

“It’s good to see you again, you look.. _amazing _.__ ” she complimented sincerely as she took in Lena’s appearance.

Lena was so close that she could smell Kara. She was seemingly surrounded by the smell of strawberries and sunshine and just everything good in the world and Lena wanted to wrap herself in it. She realized she had been quiet for what was bordering on a weird amount of time as she looked up into Kara’s face. But instead of replying like she had intended to, she found herself speechless once again as she noticed her eyes for the first time. __Really__ noticed them. Baby blue orbs shone brightly from behind her glasses and Lena forgot what words were for a moment until she got herself together once again.

 

 

“T-Thank you.” She stuttered, painfully aware of the blush currently tinting her cheeks. “You look incredible, too.”

 

Boy, was she screwed.

 

“Shall we?” Kara asked, gesturing to the sidewalk in front of them. If she was somehow aware of Lena’s current inner breakdown, she didn’t say anything as Lena smiled and they began walking.

 

“I’m sorry about Maggie earlier by the way. She likes to make my life a living hell.” Kara spoke as they took off down the path. “But she’s family regardless.”

 

“Oh no you don’t have to apologize.” Lena assured her. “I liked her she seemed nice, you said she was your sister’s girlfriend right?” She questioned curiously.

 

“Yeah, my sister Alex.” Kara told her. “They actually moved to National City last year for work, it’s one of the reasons that I chose to come here. I missed her so much, it just wasn’t the same without her at home.”

 

“Sound like you guys are close.” Lena smiled sincerely. To anyone else it would have been a simple observation, but Lena couldn’t help but feel a little envious of the blonde and her seemingly healthy relationship with her family.

 

“Yeah we are, but we definitely weren’t always..” Kara began with a laugh. “Eliza and Jeremiah adopted me when I was 13 and Alex absolutely  _hated_ me-..” Kara trailed off upon noticing that Lena had stopped in her tracks and simply stood completely stationary on the sidewalk.

 

“You’re adopted?” she asked when Kara turned to face her, brow furrowed as she stared back at Lena.

 

“Y-Yes? Is that a problem or something?” Kara asked with noticeable confusion written on her face.

 

“Oh no, God no, not at all!” Lena rushed to assure her. “It’s just-.. I’m adopted too.” She confessed as she began walking again. “I’ve never known anyone else who was.”

 

Lena was internally questioning why she had even told Kara this in the first place. She had only just met this girl today, and yet she was sharing more with her than she had shared with anyone in a long time.. and it actually felt good. Like, surprisingly good. Maybe all she had been needing this whole time was a friend, someone that she could talk to without worrying about being judged. And maybe, just maybe Kara was that person for her.

 

Lena could hear the faint thud of music in the distance as they continued to walk, indicating that the party was close by. She changed the topic of conversation as they approached, hoping Kara would understand that she wasn’t comfortable sharing any more about that part of her life just yet.

 

 * * * 

The space was packed with people jumping around, levels of drunkenness varying from the barefoot guy sliding down the railing of the staircase to the girl surrounded by her friends crying in the corner over some asshole boy no doubt.

 

“Kara! Over here!” A voice cut through the crowd as they made their way further into the house.

 

A girl with long brown hair came bouncing up to them, slightly tipsy Lena noted, and pulled both of them into a tight hug that caught Lena so off guard she all but tumbled back out of it.

 

“You must be Lena.” the girl said, handing her a red cup with dark liquid sloshing around in it. Lena had no idea what it was, but she drank it anyway and it actually tasted surprisingly good.

 

“Lena, this is my roommate Lucy.” Kara smiled as she introduced them before she accepted a cup from Lucy as well and took a generous sip from it.

 

“Nice you meet you.” Lena told her with a friendly smile before Lucy lead them further into the heart of the party.

 

Lena had to admit, she was having a great time. She rarely had the opportunity to just let go and enjoy herself back home so this was a welcomed change. She danced with Kara and Lucy and a bunch of others, drank maybe a little more than she should have and for once, just let herself be. It wasn’t until she found herself pressed dangerously close to Kara during a rather suggestive dance that she decided maybe it was time to call it a night before she ended up doing something that she regretted. She could feel Kara’s breath on her face and her smile shone brightly despite the dimmed lighting, she was so close to her face and god, Lena wanted to kiss her. Her thoughts quickly turned to disgust as she realized what she was doing.  _She’s trying to be a friend, Lena. You can’t think about her like that. It’s rude. You don’t kiss your friends._

 

When the song ended she told Kara that she should probably get going and attempted to quickly excuse herself but Kara flashed her a pout that almost made her melt and she found herself unable to walk away. She watched as Kara’s mouth moved but the music drowned out her words and she struggled to understand her.

 

“What?!” Lena called back, unable to hear her over the music.

 

Kara grasped her gently by the wrist - in a completely platonic way, Lena reminded herself - and led her towards the door. They made their way outside in an effort to be able to hear one another a little more clearly. It was dark now and the cold air was more than welcome against her flushed, sweaty skin, still overheated from dancing all night in such close proximity to so many other people.

 

“I said, do you maybe want to go get something to eat before you go home?” Kara asked. She had barely finished her sentence when a low grumble interrupted them and her hand shot up to her stomach.

 

“It certainly sounds like you do.” Lena laughed. “I’d love to. You wanna grab a pizza?” she offered up.

 

“Ooh yeah, pizza sounds amazing right now.” Kara agreed.

 

* * *

 

Once they had bought an overly large pizza to split, they located a bench in one of the nearby parks and spent the night swapping stories and getting to know one another a little better. Lena learned more about Kara, she found out that she loved animals and that she couldn’t pick a favorite color because she just loved them all so much. She listened while Kara spoke about her adoptive family and laughed alongside her as Kara told funny stories from her childhood. Lena opened up in turn, telling Kara a little about her family. She didn’t go into too much detail, she wasn’t quite ready for that yet, but it was nice to have someone to talk to.

They sat there until the entire pizza was gone and, for the first time in a really long time, Lena felt as though she had someone that she could actually consider to be a friend.

 

 


	3. Chapter 3

 

 

Classes began the following Monday and Lena finally settled into the routine of things. School was where she felt the most comfortable, she loved the new challenges that came along with being in university. The first week was easy enough, she didn’t have too much work to do outwith class so she had free time in the evenings to do whatever she wanted. She used her spare time to explore the city. The first couple of days she walked around, getting acquainted with the unfamiliar area, finding new places to eat, exploring the parks and scouting out some new reading spots. After a few days of doing that she opted to take her car instead. She drove to the places that had been too far to walk, finding a variety of different picturesque views and making sure to take a note of where they were should she ever want to go back.

 

Lena had been texting back and forth with Kara throughout the week but they hadn’t seen one another since Saturday night after they parted ways in the early hours of the morning. From what Lena had been told, Kara’s physics professor was a real piece of work and she was already swamped with homework for that class so she wouldn’t have been able to hang out anyway.

 

They figured out that they both finished early on Fridays, so they immediately made plans to meet up at the coffee shop after their last class of the day and Lena was excitedly counting down the hours as she listened to one of her professors drone on about something she had already read the day before.

 

When Lena arrived at the coffee shop Kara was already there, sitting at the same table they had less than a week before when they’d met. There were a few pieces of paper strewn across the table and she seemed lost in whatever she was working on until she noticed Lena. The moment Kara’s eyes fell on her she shot up from her seat and sent a beaming smile in her direction, opening her arms for a hug when Lena approached. She eagerly accepted and basked in the feeling of Kara’s arms wrapped so tightly around her waist. It only lasted a moment before they pulled away.

 

“Hey, I missed you.” Kara smiled as they sat down in their chairs. “How are you?”

 

“I’m great, I missed you too.” Lena was sure she was smiling like a maniac but she couldn’t bring herself to care. She insisted on getting coffee for them both and headed up to the counter to place their orders as Kara continued with whatever piece of homework she had been working on when Lena arrived.

 

“Need any help with that?” she asked, gesturing to Kara’s work as she returned to the table with two coffees and a pack of four doughnuts balanced skillfully on top of the cups.

 

“Only if you help me with these.” she said, eagerly reaching for the donuts and tearing them open the moment Lena passed them over to her.

 

“Deal.” Lena smiled as she took one from the pack that Kara was holding out to her before biting into it.

 

The bright red strawberry filling squirted out onto her sweatshirt, leaving what would most likely be a stain from her chest all the way down to the waistband of her jeans, and she had to bite back a curse word as annoyance washed over her. However, it only lasted a moment before Kara’s musical laugh sounded throughout the tiny shop and after a moment, she found herself laughing along too. Kara’s laugh was contagious and Lena couldn’t control her own as they giggled away, ignoring the stares that they were currently attracting from the other customers.

 

The spent the majority of the afternoon sitting at their table, more than content to just work away in each others company. Lena finished her homework quite a while before Kara finished her own & then pulled out a book to read, she would stop to help her when she really needed it, despite the blonde being stubborn about ‘not cheating’. Lena had noticed that a cute little crinkle would form between her brows when she was really struggling on a particularly hard question and, as she fought off the urge to reach over and smooth it out with her thumb, she used the crinkle to guide her on whether or not she should offer Kara some assistance on whichever question she was stuck on at the time.

 

Lena hadn’t realized that she had zoned out and gotten completely lost in her book until a hand was waved in front of her face and she all but fell backwards out of her seat as she was startled back to reality.

 

“Hellooooooo” Kara laughed. “Earth to Lenaaaaaa.”

 

“Oh crap!” Lena yelled, hand shooting up to her chest as she took a moment to steady herself while Kara laughed. “Sorry.” Lena said as she closed her book to give Kara her full undivided attention.

 

“I finished.” Kara told Lena, puffing her chest out and looking extremely proud of herself. “Kara Danvers is officially homework free for the next 48 hours.”

 

“Well done! See, that wasn’t so bad was it? You wanna go get dinner to celebrate?” Lena asked.

_Oh god did she really just say that out loud, she hadn’t meant to. You’ve already spent most of the day with her, Lena. She’s going to think you’re so-_

 

“Of course I do.” Kara cut off her internal downward spiral with another smile, all teeth and sunshine, and Lena’s train of thought was long forgotten.

 

“I found a great place the other day when I was looking around the city, it’s a half hour drive but the food is incredible. Or, we could stay here. Whichever works for you.” Lena offered, fidgeting nervously with her sleeve as she waited for Kara to reply.

 

“Oh yeah that sounds amazing!” she told her excitedly. “Is it cool if we stop by my dorm first though? I just have to grab my purse.”

 

“Oh no don’t worry about it, it’s my treat.” Lena told her with a smile.

 

“Thank you, but that’s really not necessary Lena.” Kara replied as she looked up into her eyes.  _ _Holy crap, those eyes.__

 

“Please, I insist.” she told her sincerely.

 

Lena already had way more money than she required. It was sort of a silent agreement between herself and Lillian, Lillian gives Lena money and in exchange, Lena doesn’t bother her. She had never had anyone willing to spend time with her like this before, and Lena figured it would be nice to be able to put some of her money to good use.

 

“Okay but next time it’s on me.” Kara insisted with a smile as they gathered their things and began walking to Lena’s car.

 

Lena couldn’t keep the smile off of her face as she thought about Kara saying ‘next time’. She really wanted there to be a next time? With Lena?

 

* * *

Twenty minutes later they were on their way. Kara had the radio blasting music from one of the pop stations while she sang and danced along enthusiastically for the entire duration of the drive. Lena couldn’t remember a time when she had laughed so hard, and she found it immensely difficult to focus on the road when she knew Kara was being all adorable right beside her.

 

Kara’s entire face lit up more than Lena thought possible as they pulled up outside the restaurant and her eyes skimmed over the large neon yellow sign hanging above the entry.

 

_Rio’s World Buffet - All You Can Eat._

****

“Oh Rao..” She muttered under her breath.

 

“Shall we?” Lena asked as she stepped out of the car, paying no attention to the seemingly make up word that Kara often used. She found it cute.

 

“Please.” Kara all but squealed as she hopped out of the car and made her way around to the sidewalk to join Lena.

 

They were seated comfortably in a booth in the corner of the warmly lit restaurant, Lena laughed as Kara disappeared behind the mountain of food on her plate and re-emerged with sauce on the side of her face. She desperately wanted to reach over and wipe it off for her.  _ _Don’t do it, Lena. That would just be weird.__

__

“What? Is there something on my face?” Kara smiled shyly.

 

__Damn it, Lena. You were staring again._ _

 

“Just a little-” she gestured to the spot on her own face.

 

Both to her relief and slight disappointment, Kara wiped it away first try.

 

“So, I’ve been meaning to ask you..” Kara trailed off.

 

“Hmm?” Lena raised her eyebrows, willing her to continue as she chewed a bite of her food.

 

“Well, you how I mentioned that my sister lives close by?”

 

“Alex, right?” Lena asked as she took a sip of her juice.

 

“Yeah.” Kara smiled. Lena wasn’t sure if it was simply the mention of her sister’s name that made her happy, or if it was the fact that Lena had actually remembered her name.

 

“Well we’re gonna start doing weekly dinners at her place while I’m here and I was wondering if you maybe wanted to come with?” she finished with a soft smile, eyes filled with hope as she watched Lena’s expression.

 

Lena was completely taken aback by the offer. She couldn’t comprehend why Kara herself would even want to spend time with her, let alone make future plans with her family of all people.

 

“Oh, Kara.. That’s- It’s really sweet but I’d hate to intrude on your family time. I know you said you missed her.” Lena stumbled over her words, awkwardly picking at a piece of food on her plate with her fork.

 

“See that’s the thing, you won’t be intruding! Maggie will be there too.. And they kinda, sorta asked me if I’d bring you.” she blushed furiously as she said it. “It’s not weird or anything, you know, she calls me most nights to talk about my day and asks me what I do and other than class, you’re the only other thing I do- I mean, I don’t  _ _do__  you- Oh Rao, that's not what I meant. They just wanted to properly meet you, you know? I shouldn’t have said anything, forget it. I’m sorry.”

 

It took Lena a moment to process what had just spilled out of Kara’s mouth before felt the laughter bubble up inside of her. She couldn’t hold it back as it erupted out of her and she struggled to get herself under control.

 

“Oh god- I’m sorry- I-” she called out between laughs. “I’d love to go with you, as long as you’re sure I won’t be a bother.”

 

“It’s not funny” Kara pouted dramatically as Lena wiped a stray tear that had escaped her eye and was currently running down her cheek.

 

“I’m sorry, you’re just so adorable.” Lena let slip before her eyes widened as she realized what she had said.

 

Kara didn’t seem to mind the compliment, she simply sent off a smile as her eyes shone brightly into Lena’s and they went back to eating normally.

 

They parted with a hug outside Kara’s dorm room a few hours later with a promise to text and make plans for sometime soon. Lena watched Kara go before heading back to her car and driving herself to her apartment.

 

When Lena arrived back at her place, she kicked her shoes off and dumped her bag at the door before heading to the bathroom to grab a quick shower. It was dark out when she re-emerged, safely wrapped in her towel, and took a second to look around her apartment. Everything was clean and packed away, there was nothing else she really had to do moving wise so she decided that she would have a movie night.

 

She pulled her spare fluffy covers out of her bedroom closet and then headed back into the living room to toss them onto the couch along with a few of her pillows. Usually she would buy some snacks, hide away and pig out on junk food as she watched a few movies, but Lena had eaten so much at dinner that she didn’t think she would ever be able to eat again. Kara, on the other hand, had packed away a rather impressive amount of food and still managed to finish her dessert.

 

It was almost as though the universe could sense her thoughts drifting to a certain bubbly blonde as Lena’s phone screen lit up with Kara’s name flashing brightly across it.

 

“Miss me already?” Lena teased as she picked up the phone.

 

It was supposed to be a joke but she actually found that she was missing Kara and she secretly hoped that Kara was missing her too, despite the fact that it had been barely an hour since the had last seen one another.

 

“Of course.” Kara replied, a little quieter than usual Lena noticed.

 

“Is everything okay?” She questioned.

 

“Uh, this is totally, completely, thoroughly embarrassing but I was wondering if you maybe wanted to go do something tonight? I kinda really need to get out of here.” Kara confessed.

 

“Why? What’s wrong?” Lena asked, suddenly filled with concern for her new friend.

 

“You remember my roommate Lucy?” Kara asked before continuing. “Well she kinda has  _ _company__.”

 ”Company? What do you mea- Oh!” and that’s when Lena heard it. Lucy certainly did have company and clearly didn’t care who knew it.

 

She struggled not to laugh as she realized that poor Kara was probably stuck in her room listening to her roommate loudly having sex in the room right next to her.

 

“I wasn’t planning on going out anywhere but you’re more than welcome to come here, I was gonna watch a few movies & the company would be nice.” Lena said calmly despite the fact that her heart was now racing over the mere thought of Kara in her apartment.

 

“Are you sure?” Kara asked hesitantly.

 

“Of course. I’ll walk round and get you. Just give me a few minutes.” Lena insisted.

 

Once she hung up the phone, she quickly located one of her coats and tossed it on over her sweatpants before grabbing the first pair of sneakers that she could find and then taking off for Kara’s place.

 

Lena’s apartment wasn’t on campus but it might as well have been. She was, at the very most, a five minute walk way from Kara’s dorm and she didn’t mind walking anyway, she found that it comforted her in more ways than one. The campus was crawling with people despite the late hour, the majority of them drunk and yelling loudly about random things. Lena kept her head down as she continued along the path. She looked up after a few moments and her eyes fell on the familiar figure currently approaching. Kara.

 

“I figured I’d just meet you halfway, I needed out of there.” Kara laughed as she caught up to Lena and they began walking back to her apartment together. “So, what movie are we watching?”

 

“I hadn’t decided yet, you can help me pick when we get there.” Lena told her.

 

“Okay sounds good!” Kara exclaimed happily.

 

When they arrived back, Lena told Kara to make herself at home while she set the DVD player up. She noticed that Kara was still in the same clothes that she had been wearing all day and she fought internally with herself over whether or not she should offer her a change of clothes.

 

Lena eventually disappeared into her room and returned with an over sized tee and a pair of sweats, knowing that if the roles were reversed Kara would offer her clothes to wear.

 

She playfully tossed them onto Kara’s head.

 

“Here, these are more movie appropriate, my room is the door on the left if you want to go change.” 

She waited for the voice in her head to tell her she was dumb for opening her mouth, that she shouldn’t have said anything, but it didn’t come. The smile that lit up Kara’s entire being was enough to keep it away.

 

“Oh you’re the best, thank you.” Kara said happily as went to put them on.

 

Lena did not think this through.

 

She almost hit the deck when Kara re-emerged, hair scraped up into a loose messy bun with Lena’s clothes on. She’s not sure what it was about Kara in her clothes but she suddenly couldn’t breathe and my god, she looks good.

 

“Do they look okay?” Kara asked, suddenly insecure as she fidgeted under Lena’s gaze.

 

“T-They look amazing.” Lena whispered as she let out a breath. She’s not even sure if Kara heard her, but she couldn’t keep it inside.

 

Once they were ready, Lena switched all of the lights off, plunging her apartment into darkness as she pulled up the screen and they flicked through until they found a movie that they wanted to watch. They settled down with the blankets and pillows and flashed one another a smile before the movie began.

 

* * *

 

The credits rolled as Lena flipped the cover off of her lap and stood up to stretch out her muscles after having sat still for so long, it was a little after midnight and Kara was snoring lightly on the other end of the couch and had been for the last half of the movie that they had been watching.

 

Lena debated whether or not she should wake her up, but Kara just looked so angelically peaceful that she couldn’t bring herself to do it. It’s not like Kara was going to walk home at this hour anyway, it was pitch black outside and Lena could see the raindrops on her window. It was much warmer and dryer in her apartment so she decided to just head to bed and set her alarm to wake Kara up early the next morning in case she had anywhere that she needed to be.

 

“Goodnight, Kara.” Lena whispered softly as she picked up the blanket that she had been using and placed it gently over Kara before heading off to her own bed.

 

She drifted off peacefully as a warm feeling settled in her chest at the knowledge of her new friend sleeping only a few feet away.

 

 


	4. Chapter 4

 

 

Lena woke the next morning to the sun streaming in her window and silently cursed herself for forgetting to close the blinds the night before. She groggily got up and made her way over to close them, plunging her room into darkness as she flopped back into bed once more. She lay there for a few moments before her brain began to catch up with her, and she finally remembered why she had forgotten to close them in the first place. Kara _. Kara was in the next room. In her apartment. On her couch. Wearing her clothes._  Her heart thudded in her chest and she wasn’t sure what do to next. It was still early, a little past seven so she didn’t want to wake her. Her mind was racing and she suddenly felt very much awake. _What if she was mad at her for not waking her last night? But why would she be?_

__

She debated back and forth with herself whether or not she should get up and go through into the living room but she finally decided against it, opting instead to stay in bed and kill some time scrolling through her various social media apps. It was all of the usual things that she would expect, posts of classmates from high school posting photos of parties that they had attended, some new people she had come across at college thrown into the mix and the occasional celebrity post.

 

A soft knock on her already open bedroom door caught her attention, pulling her away from her phone as she barely made out the blonde blur before it bounded into her room and enthusiastically flopped down onto her bed.

__

“Good morning.” Kara smiled warmly in a sing song voice as she settled on her stomach and propped her head up on her hands. “I’m sorry about falling asleep, I didn’t plan on intruding on your whole night.”

 

Lena immediately locked her phone and tossed it off to the side before turning to Kara, who’s feet were now swinging wildly above her, and she couldn’t keep the smile off her face.

 

“Oh no please don’t apologize, your company was a welcomed change.” Lena assured her. “You’re welcome to stay whenever you like, it was actually more fun than I thought.”

 

“Okay, good.” Kara smiled widely again. “I had fun too.”

 

“You wanna go get coffee or something?” Lena suggested once they had both had the opportunity to wake up a little more.

 

“And pancakes?” Kara’s eyes lit up at the prospect and, despite the fact that she wasn’t a big lover of them, Lena found herself unable to say no.

 

“And pancakes.” She confirmed with a nod.

 

Lena didn’t bother getting dressed after rolling out of bed, she simply headed to the closet and pulled out two of her larger sweaters, tossing one to Kara before pulling her own over her head. They slipped their shoes on and then headed out of the door in the clothes that they had just slept in, and Lena found that it was oddly invigorating. If only her mother could see her right now.

 

* * *

 

“So, what are your plans for the rest of the day?” Kara asked over the stack of pancakes once they were seated at their usual table, mugs of steaming hot coffee clutched in each of their hands.

 

“I was actually thinking about maybe going explore more of the city.” She told her. “You’re welcome to join me if you’d like.” Lena offered up hopefully.

 

“Oh, I promised Lucy I would help her out with unpacking the rest of her things, the girl is a nightmare she never organizes anything, but I’m free later on if you don’t mind waiting a little while?” Kara replied before she shoved the final forkful of her pancakes into her mouth.

 

Lena watched her for a second as Kara sat across from her licking the remaining maple syrup from her plate, her hair was messy from sleep and she was still in Lena’s clothes, but Lena was captivated. She couldn’t explain it, and part of her wondered if it was just how friendships were supposed to be, she had never had any friends like this to compare, but everything just seemed so easy with Kara and she looked so effortlessly beautiful that Lena couldn’t tear her eyes away.

__

Kara face came back into view as she lowered her plate from her face and looked questioningly at Lena, and she realized that she had gone quiet.

 

“Oh.. Right, yeah.. Yeah that works. Just text me when you’re done and we’ll go.” Lena told her.

 

After finishing up and paying for their breakfast, the two of them headed outside and said goodbye before parting ways with a promise to see one another later that evening. Lena laughed hysterically as Kara made a show of over enthusiastically waving goodbye, never once stopping until she was out of sight. Lena knew she that probably looked dumb walking down the street alone, still giggling about Kara, but she couldn’t bring herself to care. She finally had a friend and she was very happy about it.

 

* * *

 

“Oh I love this song!” Kara called out excitedly, diving forward to turn the radio up a little louder as she bopped along to the rhythm of the music.

 

Lena had picked her up earlier that evening and after grabbing a quick dinner at one of the restaurants near the university, they were in the car and headed to one of the spots that Lena had come across a little while ago, it was beautiful and she desperately hoped that Kara would like it.

 

Lena was listening to the song that Kara was singing, desperately struggling to keep her eyes on the road and not watch her dancing around in the passengers seat. It was an upbeat song that she had never heard before, but she as she listened to the lyrics, she found herself lost in it. Kara exuded joy and happiness and all that was good in the world and Lena found herself quickly becoming addicted to her company.

 

_If you wanna stay up all night_

_And wake down by the shoreline_

_Anything you want, darling.. I got._

_If you wanna fly round the world_

_We’ll catch a plane and I’ll be your girl_

_Anything you want, darling.. I got._

 

They pulled into a somewhat empty gravel parking lot, the car shook gently as the wheels drove over the uneven ground and Lena quickly reversed into an empty space. The sun had began to set and without the added light of the streetlamps in the city, it was significantly darker than the last time Lena had been here.

 

“Where are we?” Kara questioned as she stepped out of the car and turned to face Lena, unable to see anything but the trees surrounding them as she looked around.

 

“You’ll see, come on.” Lena rounded the car and lead Kara off in the direction that she remembered walking the last time.

 

A curious smile tugged at Kara’s lips and she wordlessly followed Lena. As they approached, a clearing in the trees became visible and Kara quickly realized that they must be heading onto the dirt path that lead them into the trees. They walked for a little while, the path quickly grew steep and Lena noticed that Kara didn’t appear to be even the slightest bit out of breath but she chalked it up to the fact that she had never exercised a day in her life and Kara was clearly fit, she probably worked out. They skillfully maneuvered their way over thick tree roots and stacks of fallen leaves , each of them almost losing their footing a few times due to hidden dips in the ground, before emerging atop a cliff that overlooked the entire city. Benches were strewn out along the edge, not too close that they were in any danger of falling over the edge, but close enough that the city was visible down below.

 

The setting sun cast a warm orange glow over the entire city below and they stood side by side for a moment, completely transfixed on the view before them as they simply took a moment to take it all in.

 

“Lena this is.. Wow” Kara whispered after a few seconds.

 

“I know.”

 

When the sun fully set, they were quickly enveloped in darkness and the light from the city didn’t quite reach where they were, but neither one of them were bothered by it. They sat in comfortable silence for a while, just enjoying one anothers company as they took in the sights before them. The tall buildings looked so much smaller than they were in the distance, and the sounds of the traffic bustling below didn’t quite make it up to where they were. Lena often found herself feeling a little claustrophobic in the city, but up here it was completely silent and she felt as though she could actually breathe.

 

“You know.. The stars remind me of home.” Kara’s soft voice cut through the quiet after a while.

 

She spoke so softly that Lena wasn’t sure she would have been able to hear her at all if they weren’t seated so close together. She sat still for a moment before turning her head ever so slightly and chancing a look at Kara. She watched her staring straight up at the sky, almost in a trance and Lena wasn’t sure if Kara had been talking to her or just thinking out loud.

 

“Midvale?” she questioned after a long moment, recalling the town that Kara had told her she lived in with her adoptive family.

 

“No, my other home.” the blonde replied simply before falling quiet once again.

 

Lena opted not to pry, and instead waited to see if Kara was going to offer up any more information. It because clear very quickly that she wasn’t going to, but she didn’t really have to. Lena understood what Kara was feeling, even if she didn’t know the specifics. She understood that pain all too well and she wanted Kara to know that she wasn’t alone.

 

“I was adopted when I four. My mother passed away and I went to live with my father and his family.” she paused to let out a shaky breath when she Kara tore her attention away from the sky and opted to face Lena instead. “I didn’t know he was my biological father until he passed away a few years ago but I often find myself missing the home I had with my mother. Honestly I’m entirely sure that the memories I have are even real, but I guess I just miss what could have been.”

 

It was the most Lena had ever opened up to anyone in her entire life, and it hadn’t seemed as monumental as it usually did. It just felt like the right thing to say in that moment, she had even noticed that she was crying until she felt Kara’s hand, so comfortingly warm on her cold skin, brush away a tear that had escaped her eye.

 

“Thank you.” Kara spoke softly as she tucked a stray piece of raven hair behind Lena’s ear.

 

“For what?” Lena asked, trying to keep her composure despite how dangerously close Kara was to her face.

 

“For.. understanding.”

 

It was in that moment that Lena decided she had to push all romantic feelings she may have for this girl down, as far deep into herself as she could and bury them. She realized how desperately she needed her in her life, even if it meant just being her friend, regardless of how difficult she was going to find it. Up until this point, she had focused only on the differences between them. She had struggled to wrap her mind around the fact that Kara would want her around, but she finally saw it as they sat atop the cliff looking out onto the city. They weren’t actually all that different.

 

* * *

 

That weekend set the tone for the next few months. They would text as often as they could during the week when they were caught up with classes and homework and then when the weekend finally arrived they would meet up outside of Noonan’s for coffee and some much anticipated quality time together. Kara always spent the weekend sleeping over at Lena’s place, although she had never outright asked her to. They would usually finish off the night with a movie, and Lena convinced herself that it was a coincidence that Kara just so happened to fall asleep on her couch every single time.

 

She was doing well in all of her classes and Lena had really settled into the swing of things. Much to her surprise, she found that she actually got along extremely well with Kara’s big sister and her girlfriend. She often joined them for family dinners at their place on Sunday evenings and she no longer felt like she was intruding on their time together. She was _happy_ and while it had been growing immensely harder, she had managed to keep her feelings for Kara in check.

 

Well, until Halloween rolled around that is.

 

 


	5. Chapter 5

 

 

 

“Jesus, Kara! You scared the crap out of me!” Alex squealed.

 

Lena and Maggie laughed loudly together from their spot on the couch as they watched Alex emerge from the bathroom, only to be greeted by Kara in what was admittedly a terrifying clown mask. She shot them each a dirty scowl before throwing herself down onto the seat beside Maggie.

 

“Not funny you guys.”

 

“It was pretty funny to me babe.” Maggie said, earning nudge to the shoulder before she turned her attention to Lena and Kara. “So, what are you two doing for Halloween anyway? Attending any crazy college parties, or do you have another one of your  _movie nights_  planned?”

 

Lena watched as Alex nudged Maggie once more and she couldn’t help but feel she was missing something. Kara seemed completely oblivious to whatever was happening so she decided to let it go.

 

“Actually, we are going to a party!” Kara said excitedly. “ _And_  we’re wearing matching costumes!”

 

Lena watched as Kara spoke about their plans. She felt the familiar rush of warmth spread throughout her entire body as Kara excitedly fidgeted in her seat like a child, eyes gleaming with pure joy. And then it hit her. Like it always did. The gut wrenching reminder that she couldn’t be thinking like this. She had been desperately trying to keep her feelings in check but it was getting excruciatingly harder.  

 

“Yo, Luthor?! Are you even listening to me?” Maggie’s voice cut through her daze and she snapped out of it, only to be met with Kara’s eyes full of concern and staring questioningly at her. She knew she was acting weird, and she knew that Kara knew she was acting weird but she tried to ignore it.

 

“Wha- Oh yeah sorry. What did you say again?” she asked, purposely avoiding Kara’s piercing gaze.

 

“I said, what’s your costume gonna be?” Maggie repeated, eyeing her suspiciously.

 

“Oh, uh Mina Murray” she laughed a little uncomfortably. “You know, from Dracula? Kara’s going as Lucy Westenra. We bought matching corsets.”

 

“Nerds.” Alex snorted a laugh.

 

The irony wasn’t lost on Lena at the reversal of their costumes. They had started watching the show together a few weeks ago, Kara had immediately fallen in love with the way everyone had dressed in that era and Lena was helpless against her begging that they dress as them for Halloween, they had gone a few days later to pick out their costumes.

 

 

* * *

 

“Hey, are you alright?” Kara asked hesitantly once they made it back to car and began heading back to Lena’s apartment.

 

“Of course, why wouldn’t I be?” Lena replied as casually as she could, she was extremely thankful that Kara was driving and couldn’t give her her full attention because she knew that one look at her face would be enough for Kara to break her down.

 

“You just seemed.. I don’t know.. _Not_ alright back there..” Kara ventured hesitantly.

 

Lena wanted to tell her. With every fiber of her being she wanted to tell her how she felt. But she couldn’t. Lena Luthor couldn’t pinpoint the exact moment that she had fallen in love with Kara Danvers but somewhere along the way, all of the months filled with coffee and sleepovers and family dinners, she had fallen harder than she had ever intended to and it was all that Lena could think about. Karawas all that she could think about. Everything about her. The way her bottom lip pouted ever so slightly when she was adorably angry about something. The way her soft snores filled her apartment on the nights she spent there. The crinkle that appeared between her brows when she was thinking too hard about something.

 

But Lena was the one that had fallen in love with her best friend, it wasn’t fair to put the burden on Kara. Kara shouldn’t have to feel weirded out that the girl she spends most of her time with thinks about kissing her _all the damn time_ or that the way she flips her hair makes her legs go weak, or that the way her eyes light up when she laughs brightens Lena’s entire existence. She shouldn’t have to feel guilty for having to let her down, for telling her that she loves her too, just __not like that.__  

 

No, this was Lena’s problem to deal with.

 

“I’m fine, Kara. Really.” she told her with a forced smile that didn’t quite reach her eyes.

 

Kara noticed immediately and wanted to challenge her on it, but she knew not to push and Lena was eternally grateful for it.

 

“Okay well, you know I’m always here if you need to talk.” Kara told her, eyes returning to the road as she placed a hand on Lena’s thigh and squeezed gently, reassuringly. Lena felt her brain short circuit momentarily before the hand was gone and returned back to it’s spot on the wheel, leaving her mind reeling and her body feeling flushed all over.

 

She had to get over this, she couldn’t lose her. Lena isn’t sure what she did to deserve Kara. The girl who radiated love and positivity at every turn despite the unimaginable pain and loss that she had experienced in her short time on earth. She hadn’t known it at the time, but Lena couldn’t help but think she had hit the jackpot back in the coffee shop that day.

 

“I know, thank you.” Her smile was sincere this time.

 

* * *

 

On the night of the Halloween party Kara and Lucy had come over to Lena’s apartment so that they could all get ready for the evening together given the fact that her living area was almost twice the size of their entire dorm room. As it turns out, Lucy was a genius when it came to SFX makeup so she was put in charge of making sure that they all looked Halloween appropriate for the evening. Kara was buzzing around on a sugar high, having already eaten way too much candy before Lucy had even arrived. There was music playing from the radio in Lena’s kitchen and she found herself laughing like she always did when Kara danced around like she currently was.

 

“Okay Lena, you’re up next.” Lucy called out, tearing Lena’s gaze away from Kara as she finished up her own makeup.

 

“Shit that looks amazing” Lena called out as she took a moment to admire Lcuy’s face. There were a number of realistic looking bloody scars and her cheeks were hollowed out almost too realistically.

 

“Don’t make her too scary, I love this face just the way it is.” Kara skipped over to where Lena was sitting and gently smushed her cheeks together with her hands. Her nose scrunched up adorably before letting go of her face and Lena is positive she blacked out for a second.

 

“She’s not wearing a scary costume you dummy, don’t worry.” Lucy assured Kara before getting to work on Lena’s makeup.

__

It didn’t even register on Lucy’s radar as unusual, everyone around them was used to the way they interacted with one another but Lena couldn’t view it the same way after coming to the realization that she was in love with Kara. She was being selfish. Kara had no idea how Lena felt and she’s positive that she wouldn’t do half of the things that she did if she knew. But Lena just couldn’t bring herself to tell her. Not yet.

__

After squeezing into their costumes and making sure they had ridiculous amount of photos, the three of them made their way downstairs where they were greeted by Lucy’s boyfriend and a friend of his that Lena had spent a little time with at a few parties on campus over the past couple of months.

 

“James, Winn, always a pleasure.” she greeted them in her very best posh English accent, extending a gloved hand towards Winn.

 

“Miss Murray you look simply ravishing this evening.” He planted a kiss on her the top of her hand before turning to Kara and doing the same. “As do you, Miss Westenra.”

 

They shared a laugh as they began walking to the party, Lena had offered to drive but they insisted that they would all walk so that she would be able to drink along with them.

 

* * *

 

A few hours later found a very tipsy Lena and Kara on the makeshift dance floor in the center of the room. Despite her slightly altered state, Lena was acutely aware of how close Kara was to her as she ground against her back. She could feel Kara’s breath on her cheek, smell the faint familiar berry scent of her shampoo, her senses were surrounded by Kara. Kara. Kara. She watched as she danced, the dopey drunken smile on her face was infectious. Lena hadn’t realized she’d stopped moving until Kara stopped.

 

“You okay?” Kara asked over the music, Lena couldn’t hear her but she managed to read her lips. Her lips, that were dangerously close to her face. Her lips, that she could reach out and capture with her own if she just moved a little.. No. It was getting harder to listen to the voice in her head, screaming at her that this was a bad idea, telling her that she shouldn’t be doing this. It just seemed so right.

__

The world them seemed to slow as they stood completely still in the middle of the dance floor, everyone around them faded into the background and Kara’s ocean blue eyes were pouring into her soul. She could feel the warmth of Kara’s hands, still on her hips from when they had been dancing. Just Kara. Everywhere. She couldn’t break away and there was an unfamiliar look in Kara’s eyes. She couldn’t pinpoint what it was and.. _Oh god is she moving closer?_

 

Their faces were mere centimeters apart when Lena almost violently threw herself back and away from Kara.

 

“I- I need some air.” she rushed out before taking off in the other direction.

 

“Lena- !” Kara called after her but Lena threw her hand up to cut her off and continued to run, desperately trying to locate the nearest exit.

 

She couldn’t believe she had actually done that. She had messed up and almost kissed Kara. She fought against her brain, knowing that the alcohol had tricked her into thinking that Kara was leaning in. God, what would have happened if she hadn’t snapped out of it? Lena threaded her fingers into the roots of her hair as she paced around in the cold outside, repeatedly cursing herself for being such an idiot.

**_**** _ **

She’s not sure how long she stayed outside, mentally destroying herself over and over again, before her phone started to ring and she fished it out of her skirt pocket. Her heart jumped into her throat as she took in the name currently flashing across the screen. Kara. Lena immedately hit decline and began to walk. She couldn’t deal with this right now, it was too much and she had to go. She needed to clear her head.

 

Before she knew it, Lena found herself back at her apartment. The sheer shock of her almost kiss with Kara paired with the almost painfully cold air outside while she had walked had left her feeling painfully sober. She felt guilty for leaving everyone behind but she just couldn’t bare to look at Kara. To hear her let her down with her sweet sunshine voice. She didn’t ever want to associate Kara’s voice with pain.

 

It was barely past midnight when she flopped down into her bed, costume abandoned in a heap on the floor and let her eyes flutter closed.

**_**** _ **

* * *

 

The incessant ringing of her phone pulled Lena out of her slumber. She couldn’t remember falling asleep, she’s not entirely sure she did, but according to the clock on her nightstand, two hours had passed. She was ready to hit decline again but it was Lucy’s name that popped up on the screen.

 

“Hello?” She croaked, rubbing her eyes as she sat up.

 

“Lena? Oh thank god! We’ve been worried sick!”

 

“Sorr-”

 

Lucy cut her off before she had the chance to say anymore, she began drunkenly rambling down the line and Lena struggled a little to make out what she was saying.

 

“You need to get back here, Kara’s drunk and we can’t get her to stop crying and she’s asking for you and I don’t know what happened but you just need to come help us.” Lucy slurred.

 

“I’ll be right there.” Lena told her before hanging up the phone and getting up out of bed.

 

She was overcome with guilt as she grabbed the nearest pair of sweats and a coat before running out of her apartment.

 

She couldn’t lay in bed feeling sorry for herself knowing that she had upset Kara. Lena had never hated herself more in that moment. She hadn’t meant to cause her any pain and her chest ached at the thought of it.

 

Lena heard Kara before she saw her. She was approaching the outside of the party where she saw a group of people that she recognized as her friends standing around outside.

 

“No! I want Lena!” Kara called out as she wrestled away from Winn who appeared to be attempting to get her into a cab.

 

“Oh thank god.” Winn sighed in relief the moment he saw Lena approaching.

 

Lucy wasn’t kidding when she had said that Kara was drunk. She could barely hold herself up and she was slurring random words in every direction, the only thing that sounded remotely English was Lena’s name.

 

“I’m here, Kara. I’m here.” Lena rushed over.

 

“Leeeeena. It’s about time you got here.” Kara stumbled towards her before throwing her arms over Lena’s shoulders, she held on as best she could but almost buckled under the weight. For such a petite person, Kara was built like concrete.

 

She wasn’t crying anymore but it was clear that she had been, her eye makeup was streaking down her face and, for the hundredth time that evening, Lena gave herself a mental swift kick to the jaw.

 

“I think we best get you home huh?” she asked Kara as she secured a hand around her waist.

 

“To your place?” Kara asked, voice slightly muffed by Lena’s hair as she buried her head in the space between her neck and shoulder.

 

Lena isn’t sure why she was shocked, given the fact that Kara had asked for her to be there now. She just couldn’t understand why she would even want to see her at all after what she had done. Or rather, almost done.

 

“If you want.”

 

“I want.”

 

After stumbling their way up to her apartment, Lena stripped Kara’s clothes off before re-dressing her in one of her sleep shirts and sitting her down on the edge of her bed. She told her to stay put while she ran to the bathroom to grab a wipe to remove her makeup and hair tie to keep it up out of her face.

 

Once all remnants of her tear stricken makeup had been gently removed and her hair was safely tied up on top of her head should she need to be sick at some point, Lena guided Kara gently back onto her pillow and tucked her in before stepping away, she had intended to go and sleep on the couch, before she felt a warm hand grasp onto her wrist and stop her from moving.

 

“Stay.” Kara mumbled sleepily in her direction

 

“A-Are you sure?” she whispered hesitantly.

 

“s’ your bed.” She scooted backwards and flapped the covers open in an obvious invitation for Lena to come lay with her.

 

The room fell silent as Lena climbed into bed beside Kara and desperately tried to calm her racing heartbeat. It was thundering powerfully in her chest and she knew that from the way Kara was holding onto her, she would be able to feel it.

 

“Lena?” Kara mumbled sleepily.

 

“Mmm?”

 

“I’m sorry for trying to kiss you.”

 

Lena’s brain went into overdrive as Kara promptly passed out and began snoring into her shoulder. Had she just said what Lena thought she had? Was she actually not as sober as she felt? Was her brain playing tricks on her? She lay awake for a while, allowing her thoughts to race around before allowing herself to indulge in the feeling of being held by Kara and drifting off to sleep beside her.

 

 


	6. Chapter 6

 

 

The first thing Lena registered when her eyes fluttered open the next morning was the sunlight peeking in from the sides of her curtains. She couldn’t remember the last time she had slept so contently all the way through the night, and she had a feeling the warm body pressed firmly against her back and holding onto her so securely that Lena wished she wouldn’t ever let her go had something to do with it. Her soft breath tickled Lena’s neck slightly and she felt the hairs there stand on end every time Kara exhaled. Her heart rate picked up significantly as she looked down between them, or rather, looked down at Kara’s hand between them, resting softly atop Lena’s left breast.

 

She stared at it as the memories of last night came rushing back and she tried to process everything. Lena was pretty positive that it wasn’t a dream, given the fact that Kara was currently in bed wrapped around her like a koala bear, but that meant that what Kara had said wasn’t a dream either. She had really said that she tried to kiss Lena. She hadn’t imagined it.

 

The thing is, Lena thought that she _had_  imagined it, and she had run away from her.

 

Kara had tried to kiss Lena, and Lena had run off in the other direction.

 

Kara was completely oblivious to Lena’s feelings,. From her perspective, all she knew was that she had tried to kiss Lena and Lena had freaked out and disappeared. She felt a stab in her gut at the memory of Kara crying last night, makeup running down her face, and yet still asking for her.

 

Lena thought she had been crying because of what she herself had almost done. Not because Kara had been brave enough to do what Lena couldn’t and, in her mind, been rejected. God, what a mess.

 

“Your heart is beating really fast.” Kara whispered in her ear, voice thick with sleep as she startled Lena out of her thoughts.

 

Lena felt Kara’s entire body go rigid against her as she finally became aware of her surroundings, putting the pieces of last night together just as Lena had a few minutes previous. Before she could say anything, Kara had shot over to the other side of the room, almost inhumanly fast. She was blushing furiously as she looked down at her left hand as though it hand betrayed her, profusely stuttering apologies.

 

“I-I didn’t mean to..”

 

She spoke as though Lena viewed her as some kind of pervert with no respect for boundaries and, despite the fact that it was probably the worst possible thing to do at this current moment in time, Lena found herself laughing. It started as a giggle, but quickly escalated into full blown hysterics and she couldn’t get herself to stop.

 

Kara looked on in horror, back firmly plastered to the wall opposite her as the sound of Lena’s laughter echoed throughout the quiet apartment.

 

“C-Come.. He-Here” she called out between laughs, extending her arms out to an extremely confused Kara and beckoning her towards her.

 

Kara hesitated for a moment, seemingly contemplating her options before slowly making her way back over to Lena and climbing up onto the bed. Lena immediately wrapped her in a hug the moment she got close enough, her hand held on firmly to Kara’s head while her other snaked around her waist. Her body shook against Kara’s as she laughed and after a few moments, Kara was laughing too.

 

They quietened down eventually and Lena found herself unable to control the stinging behind her eyes. Kara was in her arms, and apparently she felt the same way that she did. It didn’t seem real, part of her was still convinced that she was wasted and had imagined everything. She desperately tried to hold them back but despite her best efforts, a tear rolled down her cheek. And then another. And another.

 

She had been so preoccupied trying to hide her own tears that she hadn’t noticed Kara gently sniffling into her shoulder, her own shirt clenched tightly in Kara’s fists.

 

“Kara.. Hey.” Her voice was barely above a whisper, but Kara heard her. She always did.

 

The blonde lifted her head from it’s spot on Lena’s chest and she felt her heart break. Kara’s eyes were puffy and laced with sadness, a sadness that Lena knew she was responsible for.

 

“I’m so sorry Lena. I don’t know what came over me, I- I just.. God, I’m such an idiot..”

 

Lena listened to her ramble as the tears freely flowed down her face. She wanted to cut her off, to explain, to tell her it was okay. But she was frozen. She couldn’t come up with any words, not when she was hearing Kara say the only words she had imagined hearing for months.

 

“.. I- I didn’t mean to mess everything up, and I totally understand if you don’t want me around anymore. I wouldn’t want me around either. It was crazy of me to think that you felt the same way, I just couldn’t stop myself and I clearly freaked you out. Just.. know that I’m sorry. I’m so sorry Lena I-”

 

Lena kissed her.

 

It was soft and wet and tasted of salt. They were both crying and Kara gasped into her mouth before completely freezing. Lena pulled away, hands still cupping her face as she swiped a stray tear away with the pad of her thumb. It took Kara a second to respond, Lena was beginning to worry that she had somehow managed to misread the situation, but then Kara was kissing her back and it was everything. Part of her was terrified she was going to wake up, that all of this had been a dream, but then Kara’s hand was in her hair, and her lips were moving against hers, and her hand was wrapped around her neck, pulling her closer and suddenly she didn’t care. The world around her slowed to a complete stop. Every decision that she had ever made had lead her to this very moment, and for once in her life she didn’t regret a single one of them. If it was a dream, she was going to stay in it for as long as humanly possible.

__

Lena held off as long as she could, but her lungs were burning and her body was screaming at her for air, and she regretfully pulled away. Ocean blue melted into forest green as their foreheads rested against one another, Lena was highly aware of the fact that her mouth still tasted of Kara as she fought to get her breath back. Her hands were still cupping her cheeks and Kara’s own hands held tightly onto her waist. The smile on her face shone bright enough to put the sun to shame. Her hair was in disarray from Kara’s grabby hands and she’d never felt this feeling before. Complete contentment.

 

She’s not sure how long they stayed there like that, it felt like forever and no time at all. It was as though Kara was trying to convince herself that it was actually happening too, that if they broke away it would fade to nothing. That they would wake up. So they held on.

 

It was Kara who spoke first.

 

“Lena-..”

 

Lena shook her head and she fell silent. She knew that Kara must be so confused, that she had to explain everything to her but her head was pounding a little from the night before and she desperately needed caffeine.

 

“Coffee first?” she offered weakly, not wanting to move but knowing that they would have to eventually.

 

Kara gratefully accepted her offer and it turned into their normal Saturday routine after that. They made the bed and tossed on the nearest items of clothing they could find before heading out to start the walk to their coffee shop. Kara always seemed to perk up once they were outside, something about the fresh air or the sunshine seemed to comfort her immensely. It was as though nature was her very own hangover cure. Lena experienced no such luxury, the only thing that helped her was coffee. _I swear if we cut you open you’d bleed the stuff_. The memory of Kara’s voice echoed in her head and she laughed.

 

“What’s funny?” Kara questioned with an amused smile.

 

“Nothing, I’m just happy.” she answered, matching her smile.

 

They had breakfast together like usual and things were exactly the same. Lena watched as Kara’s eyes shone with happiness like they always did while she devoured her pancakes. It wasn’t awkward in the slightest and she’d never felt so relieved about anything. They laughed and spoke about all of the random things they usually did. They spoke about everything other than the past 24 hours.

 

Lena was under the impression that Kara would be coming back home with her afterwards so that they could properly talk things through and work out where to go from there, but Kara apparently had other ideas.

 

“I’m sorry there’s something that I have to do, but I’ll come by later, okay? I promise.” Kara had told her as she pulled her into a quick hug once they made it back outside and then took off in the other direction before Lena had a chance to reply.

 

* * *

 

A knock at the door broke Lena away from the English lit essay that she was currently typing up, it wasn’t actually due for another week but she found that she didn’t have anything else to do given that she usually spent her weekends with Kara, so she figured it wouldn’t harm her to get a head start on it. The only logical person that would be knocking on her door is Kara, and Lena felt her stomach tighten as she set aside her laptop and made her way over to the door.

 

“I already told you, you don’t have to knock.” she swung the door open with a smile and stepped aside to let Kara in.

 

She noticed immediately that something about her seemed a little off, she was toying nervously with her fingers and she didn’t head straight for the fridge like she usually did when she entered Lena’s apartment.

 

“Are you alright?” Lena asked softly, voice filled with concern as she took in the sight of Kara pacing back and forth across the floor.

 

“Yeah it’s just.. ” she paused to let out a breath before continuing. “We need to talk.” Kara told her, most likely noticing the fear in Lena’s eyes the moment the words left her mouth, ad she rushed to reassure her. “I mean.. I’m okay, we’re okay, but I need to talk to you.. about something.”

 

Lena was entirely unconvinced that everything was okay , her heart was beating uncomfortably fast in her chest and her throat felt uncomfortably tight.

 

“Okay, so let’s talk.” she willed her voice to stay steady as she spoke. “Let me just clear some of this up.” Lena made her way over to the living area once again and began clearing up her work from earlier before Kara stopped her.

 

“Actually, I wanna talk somewhere else if that’s okay?” she asked a little hesitantly

 

“I-.. Yeah, Of course.”

 

Lena was confused, and she had a lot of questions, but she decided it would be easier to just go quietly with Kara and deal with whatever it was once they got wherever they were going. __Had Kara changed her mind? Was this not what she wanted? Had she finally kissed her and it wasn’t what she had been expecting? Lena didn’t know.__

__

__

They drove in relative silence for a while, Lena vaguely recognized the route they were taking but she couldn’t quiet remember where it lead. It was already dark out, the long winter nights had slowly crept up on them, and the radio played music softly in the background.

 

Lena spent most of the journey with the side of her forehead pressed against the window, looking out at the blur of the world as Kara drove, desperately trying to settle her thoughts. There was no point in freaking out, it wouldn’t change anything. Whatever was going to happen would happen, regardless of how much she worried about it.

 

They pulled into a familiar parking lot. It looked a little different from last time they had been here, the leaves were completely gone from the trees and there were no other cars parked on the gravel. Lena felt herself smile a little as she realized where they were. It was the cliff top that she had taken Kara to a few months back.

 

She let the memories of the last time that they had been here take over whilst they walked the trail up to the top. It was a little while after they had met and she had opened up to Kara about her family. She cringed a little as she remembered the tears that she’d shed but Kara hadn’t seemed to mind and it was a great comfort to her. The trail came to an end and they emerged from the trees atop the familiar cliff. The view was just as breathtaking in the dark with the city lights twinkling below them as the stars twinkled above.

 

“Can we sit?” Kara asked, speaking for the first time in a while as she gestured to one of the benches.

 

“Of course.”

 

Lena could see that Kara was struggling with whatever she was going to say. She hadn’t stopped fussing with the hem of her sleeve, or rather, the hem of Lena’s sleeve since they had sat down almost five minutes ago. Their wardrobes had practically melded together by this point and it seemed to work for both of them. Lena got to see Kara in her clothes while being enveloped in the smell of Kara when she wore hers. It was a win, win situation.

 

“Kara.” Lena shifted to face her after another few minutes of silence, resting her hand gently on Kara’s to still her movements as she looked up at her face. There was a storm behind her eyes and Lena desperately wanted to ease her worries. “Whatever it is, you can tell me. If you don’t want this.. If you changed your mind, I can take it. It’s just.. You have to tell me.”

 

It seemed to be the nudge that Kara was needing and she let out a shaky breath before beginning.

 

“Do you remember the last time we came here?” she asked Lena quietly.

 

“I do.” Lena nodded.

 

“I told you that the stars reminded me of home.”

 

She had no idea where Kara was going with this but Lena stayed quiet, gently squeezing her hand a little to remind her that she was here for her and willing her to continue.

 

“and you know I lost my parents when I was thirteen.” Kara added and Lena nodded once again.

 

“There’s something I didn’t tell you.” She avoided eye contact with Lena as she lightly drew patterns over the top of her hand. “My family.. I wasn’t born here-.. Lena, I’m an a-..”

 

Kara voice cracked and she broke down mid sentence. Lena still had no idea what was happening but from the little that she had managed to gather, she was pretty sure it wasn’t about them. It was something much deeper than that.

 

“You’re going to hate me!” Kara burst out, tears spilling out over her face. “I’m so sorry Lena! I’m so sorry!”

 

Lena pulled her in close and wrapped her arms as far around her as she could, squeezing her tightly and gently shushing her. She couldn’t imagine what would be causing Kara this much pain, so she squeezed a little harder and hoped that it conveyed everything that she needed it to.

 

“I have no idea what you’re going to say, and, honestly, I can’t promise you that it’s going to be okay, but I can promise you that I’ll be here. No matter what it is.” She placed a kiss on top of her head. “I could _never_  hate you, Kara.” Her voice was slightly muffled as she spoke into Kara’s hair but she knew that she could hear her.

 

“I’m an alien.” she said quickly into Lena’s neck.

 

“Wait, wait?” Lena pulled back to look at her. It was the last thing that she would ever have expected to hear, of all the places her brain had taken her over the course of the last hour, Kara being an alien was most definitely not one of them.

 

“I’m an alien.” Kara repeated. “ I was born on a planet called Krypton.” she told Lena as she looked up to meet her eyes.

 

“Isn’t that where Superman is from?” she questioned.

 

“ Yeah, he’s my cousin. My parents sent me here to protect him when our planet was dying.”

 

Lena listened as Kara told her story. She kept her hands clasped in Kara’s as she looked at her for what felt like the first time. The longer she stared the more it seemed to make sense. It wasn’t possible for a human to be so incredibly flawless. The way her hair flowed so effortlessly. The way she seemed to radiate sunshine. The odd little things she muttered in her sleep that always sounded like some kind of foreign language.. that probably __were__  a foreign language. The taste of her lips. The way she always smelled like freshly baked cookies and the air during those long, happy summer evenings and something so soft that she could only attribute to Kara. And her eyes. Lena couldn’t even begin to comprehend what they had seen. The universe was quite literally behind those baby blue orbs that Lena had grown to love so dearly. She felt breathless as she took in every detail of her face in complete awe.

 

“.. I didn’t want to lie to you, I didn’t mean for things to get so far without you knowing who I am. _What_ I am _ _.__ I’m super about consent and everything, I planned on telling you before I- well before we.. You know. I planned to tell you before anything happened between us, I really did. You just looked so beautiful and we were having such a good night and I just.. I couldn’t control myself but then you ran and oh Rao this is a mess, I’m not making any sense. I knew after we kissed I couldn’t _ _not__  tell you but I had to tell Alex I was telling you first and she told me that as long as I trusted you then I should tell you. And, I do Lena. I trust you. Wholeheartedly. I wanted to do it here because.. Well, it’s where I realized that I was falling for you.” Kara let out a relieved sigh as she finished talking and looked anxiously to Lena, awaiting her response.

 

Lena hadn’t meant to be silent for so long but her brain had gone into overdrive as she tried to process everything that Kara had just said. She saw her eyes began to well up again and Kara scooted backwards a little. Lena quickly realized that her silence was being construed as rejection and rushed to clear things up.

 

“Oh, __Kara.”__ She couldn’t believe that Kara would ever doubt for a second that Lena wouldn’t be her friend over something as trivial as her being an alien. “I don’t care that you’re an alien- I mean, I do. I care, but only because I care about you. It doesn’t bother me. And it certainly doesn’t change how I feel about you.”

 

They were still for a moment. The faint noise of the city below rumbling away in the background as they sat beneath the stars. A smile tugged at the corner of Lena’s lips as she gently wiped away Kara’s tears.

 

“Did you say you were going to tell me before anything happened between us?” she asked with a hint of teasing in her tone.

 

“Oh- I.. Well you know- I hoped..” Kara’s cheeks flushed pink as she tried to stutter her way through an explanation.

 

Lena simply laughed as she listened, tucking a stay piece of hair behind Kara’s ear as she spoke.

 

“I hoped too.” she admitted with a smile

 

“You did..?”

 

“Have you ever met yourself? Of course I did.” she paused for a moment. “I didn’t mean to run out on you last night. I thought I had imagined it, imagined __you__ , trying to kiss me and I didn’t want my feelings to get in the way of our friendship, you know?”

 

“When did they start?” Kara asked quietly, toying with the ends of Lena’s hair that had fallen between them.

 

“When did what start?”

 

“Your _feelings_ , dummy.”

 

“Oh.. When you started rambling about how you don’t usually steal stranger’s tables.”

 

Kara nudged her gently as they laughed.

 

It was all extremely surreal. Here she was, overlooking the city with her very best friend. The one that she had caught feelings for and convinced herself to bury them inside of her, in this very spot no less. And here was said best friend, telling her that not only was she an alien but that she reciprocated her feelings. Lena didn’t know what to make of it, she just knew that she was happy. Happier than she thought she could be.

 

They stayed for a while, just enjoying the moment. It wasn’t until Kara noticed Lena’s not so subtly attempts to hide the fact that she was shivering that she suggested they leave. As they stood up, Kara turned her back to her and squatted down.

 

“Hop on!”

 

“Wha- No, I’m too heavy.” Lena exclaimed as she took in the sight of Kara in front of her.

 

“Lena, I’m Kryptonian. I could carry 5 of you.” Kara insisted.

 

Not able to think of any other arguments against it, and secretly wanting to feel Kara’s hands as they held her, Lena hopped on to her back and they made their way down the trail once more.

  
”Wait a second, you mean to tell me you let me __exhaust__  myself three times climbing up and down here when you could’ve just carried me the whole time?” Lena asked, feigning hurt.

 

Kara laughed as Lena wrapped her arms tightly around her neck and pretended to choke her.

 

“I’m sorry, I guess I enjoyed the view.”

 

It took Lena a moment to click on to what she meant and she felt her cheeks heating up when she finally understood.

 

“Kara Danvers.. were you staring at my ass?!”

 

Instead of replying, Kara purposely let her drop down a little from her back as Lena screamed and clung on to her harder before Kara pulled her back up, grip tight on her thighs.

 

“Kara! Don’t do that you moron!” Lena swatted at her shoulder.

 

“Sorry.. I was thinking about your ass.” Kara teased as they began to approach the car.

 

More often than not, they spent their Saturday evenings out with friends and drinking in one form or another, whether it was a party or a bar or just staying at Lena’s with booze purchased from the store around the corner. It was already late when they got back and Lena really wasn’t feeling up to going out or drinking. It had been an emotionally exhausting few days and she really just wanted to bury herself in a pile of blankets and not move for a good while. From the way Kara face planted her couch when they arrived back at her apartment, it appeared that she felt the same way.

 

Lena spent some time tidying up the papers that she had left behind earlier in the day before Kara had come to get her, organizing and putting them away where she could resume her work on Monday. Once she was done, she turned to look at the collapsed pile of limbs taking over her entire couch and she couldn’t help but smile.

 

“Wanna watch a movie?” she asked.

 

“Mmphf” Kara huffed into one of the couch cushions in reply.

 

“I said..” Lena playfully threw herself down on top of Kara, straddling her back as she spoke into her ear. “Do you wanna watch a movie?”

 

“I wanna sleeeeeep” Kara pouted like a cranky toddler.

 

“Come on then, we’ll go to bed.” Lena said as she climbed down from her back and extended a hand out.

 

“Oh- I- It’s okay, I can sleep here like I usually do- Last night, I didn’t mean-” Kara stuttered as she lifted her head to face Lena.

 

“You’re welcome to stay there if you want, whatever you’re more comfortable with. Honestly the only reason I didn’t ask before was because you were always already asleep before I went to bed.” Lena admitted with a shrug.

 

“Oh, okay, if you’re sure it’s no trouble.”

 

“It’s no trouble at all.”

 

Kara shot up, maybe a little too eagerly and flashed Lena a smile that she matched without hesitation. Kara was all but bouncing up and down on the balls of her feet, perfectly mirroring how Lena felt inside. Her heart was going crazy and she knew she needed a moment to calm down before going to sleep.

 

“I’m gonna go take a quick shower, I’ll be in soon.” she told her as Kara headed into her bedroom.

 

“Okay” she called back. “Don’t be too long.”

 

When Lena re-emerged and headed to her room, the sight before her hit her like a freight train. Her girlfriend, __girlfriend? Could she say that? They’d have to talk about it in the morning,__ was already asleep. Wrapped up in her bed covers and wearing Lena’s old Metropolis High shirt that she had helped herself to. She was snoring softly into her pillow and Lena’s brain shot back to all the nights that she had spent alone, wondering if she would ever meet anyone like this. Her best friend, possible girlfriend, the new friends she had made in the few months she had been here, Alex, Maggie, Sunday dinners like a proper family would have, the freedom that came along with living on her own. She was suddenly overcome by emotion, it was a lot to take in.

 

She climbed into bed and felt Kara shift immediately to wrap her arm around her. She nuzzled her face into the space between her shoulder and neck and allowed herself this moment. Allowed herself to enjoy it without thinking about everything and anything that could go wrong, that she could do to mess it up, because Kara was holding her and everything just felt so right.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> comments?? questions?? the lyrics to so what by p!nk?? pls leave down below :)


	7. Chapter 7

 

 

 

When Lena woke the next day there was an empty space where Kara should be. She felt around blindly for her phone, squinting at the brightness of it as she struggled to make out the time on the screen. She blinked a few times before noticing that there was a text from Kara.

 

_Kara: If you’re awake before I get back then I’ve gone to the store & I won’t be long. If you’re still asleep then you’re adorable. Xx_

 

There was a photo of them attached to the message, it was clearly a selfie that Kara had taken of Lena sleeping on her chest. Kara’s hand was resting gently on her head, fingers loosely tangled up in her hair as she gently pressed her lips to Lena’s forehead. The sight of the image made her heart swell and she immediately saved it before typing her reply.

 

_Lena: Taking pics of me sleeping isn’t creepy at all_

_Lena: Hurry back, I miss you Xx_

****

Lena was halfway through making her bed when she heard the door click open and abandoned the sheets in favor of heading out into the main part of her apartment to see Kara. She was met with the sight of Kara carrying a ridiculous amount of paper bags from what she assumed must be from the grocery store down the street

****

”Uhhh, I have food you know.” she gestured towards the bags as Kara set them down on the kitchen island and stepped around towards her.

 

“Yes, but you __don’t__  have stuff for pancakes and I thought it would be fun to make some.” she smiled as she stopped in front of Lena and wrapped her arms around her waist. “Good morning.”

 

Kara slowly leaned in to kiss her but Lena jerked her face away in the opposite direction before she could get close enough to do so.

 

“I have morning breat, it’s gross.” Lena said to the wall as Kara’s grip on her waist tightened, pulling her closer.

 

“I don’t care.” she husked.

 

Lena fought against her for a second before Kara reached up to turn her head, she made an exaggerated show of squishing her cheeks together before planting a sloppy kiss on her lips and Lena fell into a fit of giggles.

 

“Get away from me you dork.” she continued to laugh as she gently pushed Kara back.

 

They spent the rest of the morning making pancakes together. Kara was horrified to find out that Lena had never made them herself before and she insisted she make one of every kind. Plain, chocolate chip, white chocolate chip, blueberry, peanut butter, coconut. You name it, Kara helped her make it. It was all very cliche when Kara booped her nose with a batter covered finger and in retaliation Lena gently slapped her butt, leaving a white flour hand print on her jeans. They spent the moments the pancakes were cooking engaging in very serious flour attacks interspersed with soft kisses. It was all very domestic and Lena kept waiting for the bubble to burst, for something to happen. She didn’t deserve all of this. To feel __this__  happy. But as she gazed over at Kara, covered in flour and stuffing chocolate chips into her mouth as she danced around the kitchen, she realized that she didn’t care. If she could have this, with Kara, right now then she was sure as hell going to make the most of it.

 

* * *

 

“Just a heads up, Alex and Maggie are probably going to be even more intolerable with the teasing when I tell them that you’re my girlfriend. They’ve kinda been at me for months to tell you how I fe-..” Kara trailed off when she saw the look Lena was giving her. “What?”

 

“I’m your girlfriend?”

 

“I- Uh- Sorry I shouldn’t have assumed- Do.. Do you wanna be?”

They were climbing the stairs to Alex and Maggie’s place and Lena all but tripped over her own feet. She held on to Kara’s wrist to stop her from going any further and Kara stepped down so that they were each on the same level. __Did she really just ask if she__ wanted __to be her girlfriend? To be Kara’s girlfriend? Her? Lena? Girlfriend to Kara? Of course she did.__ Her heart was thumping dangerously fast in her chest and before she knew what was happening, she had grabbed Kara by the waist and slammed her against the wall. Her lips crashed against hers and after freezing up for a second, Kara was hungrily kissing her back. She felt strong arms wrap around her waist, pulling her impossibly closer as a tongue ran along her bottom lip and she eagerly parted them before -

 

“Way to go little Danvers!! See Alex, I told you she’d tell her!” Maggie’s voice snapped them out of their moment and they sprang apart like polarized magnets.

 

“No, no, nope, no way, this is NOT happening!” Alex exclaimed.

 

“I thought you guys were upstairs.” Kara squeaked, her voice a little higher than usual as she took in the sight of Lena, somewhat flushed and panting next to her before turning her attention to Alex and Maggie, each with a few bags of groceries in their hands.

 

“Yeah well I thought you guys were coming for dinner, not to have sex in the stairwell.” Alex huffed as she pushed past them and stomped up towards her apartment, closely followed by Maggie who flashed them a grin before giving them each a thumbs up.

 

Lena let out a sigh of relief once they had gone and smiled when Kara did the same in perfect sync with hers.

 

“So..That happened.”

 

“Yup.” Kara said, popping the P with a wide grin.

 

The rush of the past few moments almost made her forget what got them in the situation in the first place. Almost. She felt her heart skip before turning to Kara.

 

“If it wasn’t clear, I’d love to be your girlfriend.” Lena told her sincerely.

 

The happiness that seemed to overtake Kara’s entire being is something that Lena won’t ever forget. This time it was Kara that kissed her, not quite as heated as the previous one, but soft and lovingly. In a way that was so perfectly Kara that Lena allowed herself to indulge in it for a long moment before they linked hands and began heading up the stairs for what was sure to be an interesting dinner with Alex and Maggie.

 

* * *

 

The last few weeks before thanksgiving break were hectic to say the least. Finals were fast approaching and Lena spent every free moment that she had studying. Kara was desperately trying to keep up with her physics class but her professor was still as useless as he had been at the beginning of the year. Lena helped her when she could but _Earth physics is just so behind Lena, I don’t understand any of this._

 

Lena was currently splayed out on the floor, surrounded by textbooks and paper as she worked. She could feel Kara’s eyes on her from the couch and watched a little as her eyebrow furrowed and the little crease appeared like it always did when she was stressed. They had been working non stop since this morning and while Lena was never one to take breaks, as Kara so often reminded her, she knew they wouldn’t be seeing one another for a few weeks over thanksgiving break and really she didn’t want to spend their last few days studying, but she just had so much to get done.

 

“Hey, you wanna go for a walk or something? If I look at this any longer I think my brain will implode.” Kara laughed as she closed her laptop and tossed it aside.

 

She really shouldn’t stop, the borderline workaholic in her was screaming at her to continue despite Kara.

 

“I really shouldn’t, I have so much do to.” she said half halfheartedly, looking down at her work with a pained expression.

 

Kara knew that no amount of verbal convincing would do the trick, so she had to up her efforts if she wanted to get Lena to take a break.

 

“Okay then.” she replied, sliding down from her seat on the couch and onto to the floor where Lena was laying. “I’ll just..” she crawled over to her. “Sit right here..” She swung a leg over Lena’s back and climbed up to straddle her. “Very quietly..” She gathered Lena’s hair and swept it over her shoulder. “And I won’t distract you at all.” Her lips ghosted over Lena’s now exposed neck. Leaving soft, barely there kisses on her. Her head involuntarily lulled backwards towards Kara as she continued.

 

“That’s not.. distracting.. at all.” Lena breathed as Kara’s soft lips located her pulse point and she felt her whole body shudder.

 

Screw it.

 

She flipped herself over onto her back as Kara struggled to keep her balance before she pulled her down towards her. Their lips crashed together as Kara’s hands found their way to her face and Lena felt her whole body ignite as their lips danced together. They were sloppy kisses, desperate even. All the thoughts and feelings that they never said aloud accumulating in fast, frantic movements. Her own hand tugged gently on a fistful of blonde hair as she felt Kara suck her bottom lip into her mouth and a moan escaped her lips. __Oh God was this happening?!__ Kara smiled against her mouth in response. Lena’s senses were thrown into overdrive, she could feel every single inch of clothing that touched her skin and she wanted it gone. She wanted to feel Kara on her without any barriers. All of Kara. She licked into her slightly parted lips before Kara got the hint and their tongues met _ _.__ It was too much and not enough and Lena desperately clawed at her as they explored the familiar territory of the others mouth, tongues dancing together in a well rehearsed number. Her hands toyed with the hem of Kara’s shirt for a second before slipping underneath and __oh.__  Kara was so __soft__  and __warm__  and Lena wanted __more__. Needed __more__. Her lungs were burning but the feeling of skin on skin was fueling the fire rapidly spreading throughout her entire body. Kara eventually pulled away, gasping for air. The blue of her eyes was almost completely gone. A mere rim around the black orbs that had taken over as she stared down at Lena and Lena felt her mouth go dry. All of the moisture in her body had apparently gone south. When Kara’s mouth met hers again she gasped and tugged more desperately at her shirt, making to pull it off before Kara suddenly jerked away and rolled off of her.

 

“Lena- I-I’m sorry.. I’m not-” she stuttered, cheeks flushed pink and fighting to regain her breath.

 

“Oh God I’m so sorry, I should’ve asked, I’d never want you to feel pressured or anything. A- Are you okay? God, I’m an idiot! I-”

 

“No, Lena, it’s okay. I’m fine.” Kara rushed to stop her rambling. “I just..”

 

She gestured to the part of the rug she had been gripping onto to avoid possibly hurting Lena and Lena noticed the giant piece that had been ripped out. She had been so caught up in Kara she hadn’t even heard her do it. Lena tried her best not to laugh, she really did. But Kara was there, lips kiss swollen, hair in disarray, looking utterly frustratingly adorable as she gripped a red piece of carpet in her hand and Lena couldn’t help it.

 

“It’s not funny Lena!” she groaned and buried her face in her hands. “It’s not fair, you look like _that_. _ _”__ she gestured to Lena. “And.. and you’re so beautiful and I just- I can’t control myself. It scares me.”

 

Lena shifted over to where Kara was sitting and brought her hands up to pull Kara’s away from her face before taking them in her own.

 

“Listen, we can take this as slow as you need to.” she reached up to cup her face, aching to reassure her that this was all okay. “There’s no pressure. And when, or if you decide that you’re ready and you need me to stop or slow down or you need to take a break or __anything,__  you tell me. Okay? It’s not an issue.”

 

Relief flooded Kara’s features for a moment before a look of __something__ flashed across her face and Lena could sense that there was something she wanted to say.

 

 _ _“__ Is it okay if we still..” she hesitated.

 

Lena swiped her thumb across her cheek, willing her to go on.

 

“I mean.. Could we still do some other stuff?” her eyes were burning a hole into the space between them, not literally of course, and Lena struggled to contain her smile.

 

“I’d love that.” she replied and Kara’s eyes met hers once more. “But I think now would be a good time to take that walk, because when __you__ look like __that__..” she mirrored Kara earlier, gesturing to her. “I have a hard time controlling myself too.”

 

* * *

 

Lena lay in bed tossing and turning that night. Her brain just wouldn’t shut off. She was worried about having to go home, stressing about all the work that she still had to get done and sad about leaving Kara behind for two weeks. Tomorrow was their last full day together before they each parted ways on Saturday and it didn’t help that she had gone back to her dorm that night to finish some of her own work without any distractions. She missed the warmth of Kara’s body laying beside her, the way her arm draped across her torso as she mumbled in her sleep. Her mind wandered to earlier in the day and the dull ache that had been present ever since began to intensify. She tried to sleep but images of Kara straddling her waist, warm mouth on hers, fingers tangled in hair kept manifesting behind her eyes and she clenched her thighs together.She desperately tried to push the images away but regardless of how hard she tried, they just wouldn’t seem to leave her mind. She rummaged around in one of her bedside drawers before she found what she was looking for and settled back into bed. She stopped trying to calm her body and instead let it do as it pleased. She’d been uncomfortably turned on for the majority of the evening and struggled to contain her gasp as she rested the little vibrating bullet on herself over her underwear.

 

Lena let her mind wander to all the places that she had been trying to avoid before. It had been over a year since she had last had sex but she was no stranger to taking care of herself. She arched into the feeling, increasing the speed before reaching under her shirt to palm at her breast. Lena knew Kara liked to check in on her sometimes, just a quick listen to make sure that everything was alright, and the thought of Kara hearing this was setting her body alight. She tweaked at her nipple before sliding the bullet beneath her underwear and a groan tore itself from her throat without her consent. She upped the speed once more before her back arched off the bed and she came as quietly as she could. It was mild, but it did the trick. Her body had significantly relaxed and she was finally able to drift off to sleep.

 

 

 

 


	8. Chapter 8

 

 

Lena gripped on tightly to Kara’s hand as she led the way through the hustle and bustle of the crowds at the airport. It turns out having an alien girlfriend with super strength came in extremely handy when rushing to a flight.  They had just left Alex and Maggie back at the bar and Kara was walking, or rather running, Lena to her flight before meeting back up with them to catch their own flight home to Midvale. They weaved expertly in and out of the crowd before finally coming to a stop at the gate, Lena slightly out of breath, with a few moments to spare before she had to board her flight to Metropolis.

 

“Okay do you have your passport?”

 

“Yes Kara of course I have my passpo-”

 

“And your boarding pass?”

 

“Right her-”

 

“What abou-”

 

“Kara. I have everything. I promise.” Lena assured her as she breathed a laugh. She smiled at her for a moment before the blonde threw herself at Lena, arms tightly encircling her neck.

 

“I’m really going to miss you.” Kara said, voice slightly muffled by Lena’s hair.

 

Lena had been at NCU for almost half a year and she just realized that this was the first time she would be away from Kara since then. They had met on her very first day on campus and the longest they had gone without seeing each other was a few days in the beginning.

 

“I’m really going to miss you, too.” she said, and she meant it, as she gripped on tightly to Kara’s back.

 

Lena really didn’t want to go back home but part of being a Luthor meant showing face at family events, and the family thanksgiving party was no exception. She would never admit it, but she was maybe, slightly, just the teensiest little bit looking forward to the thanksgiving dinner they had just as a family on thanksgiving day. It would be nice to catch up with Lex.

 

 _“ATTENTION, FLIGHT 347 TO METROPOLIS IS NOW BOARDING”_ the voice over the intercom cut through their moment and Lena gently pulled away from the hug before taking Kara’s face in her hands.

 

“I’ll see you in a few weeks.” She said, before planting a quick kiss on her lips.

 

She bent down to pick up her bag and made to walk away before Kara gripped her wrist and pulled her back, she gasped as she was pulled into a kiss that was bordering on inappropriate for such a public place, not that she was complaining.

 

“See you in two weeks. Call me when you land.” Kara said, pulling away slightly flushed and winking cheekily at her. God, she would miss that.

 

“Will do, see you in two weeks.” Lena promised as she walked off.

 

Kara watched, waving from the window the entire time as Lena’s plane boarded and then took off.

 

* * *

 

Lena could feel the dread pooling in her stomach as the chauffeur pulled into the Luthor driveway and began the drive up the familiar cobblestone path surrounded by trees and neatly kept grass. She maybe would’ve considered this place home once upon a time, but ever since her father passed it held nothing but bad memories and harsh coldness. She knew the only reason she was even required to be there in the first place was for appearance sake, god forbid the Luthor family appear anything other than the perfect American family- sure they experienced a little bit of a rough patch when Lionel had passed away but they stuck together and came out stronger because of it. Lena scoffed silently to herself. Yeah right.

 

The car slowed to a halt outside the entrance to the Luthor Mansion and Lena took a deep breath before collecting her thoughts and opening the door.

 

“Hey, Lee!”

 

She whirled around and was met with the sight of Lex running down the stairs outside of the house and enveloping her in a hug.

 

“Hey! I missed you!” She spoke into his shoulder, squeezing him a little tighter and taking a moment to simply enjoy one of the only things worth coming home for.

 

“Let me grab your bags, come on, mom will kill you if you’re late for the party tonight.” Lex told her as they broke apart.

 

“Yeah like she doesn’t already want to kill me anyway.” Lena muttered to herself as Lex collected her bags from the trunk of the car and made their way back up the steps towards the front door.

 

The Luthor household was exactly the same as it had always been, large ridiculously overpriced paintings hung from the walls near the fall themed flowers that lay in vases around the entryway. The floors shone like they always did and everything was impeccably tidy. Lena never liked it. It always felt more like a house than a home, more like a museum than a place where people actually lived.

 

Lex helped bring her case up to her room and then disappeared down the hall into his own room to get ready for the evening with a promise to catch up later. Lillian was never one to greet her upon arrival but Lena reluctantly knew that she would see her later before the party. She took the opportunity to send off a quick text to Kara to let her know that she had arrived safely as promised.

 

_Lena: Hey, I’m here now and missing you. Xx_

_Kara: In the car home from the airport, miss you more. Everyone is asking for you. Xx_

****

Lena tossed her phone aside and began getting herself ready for the evening. There was an emerald colored dress hanging in her closet that her mother had obviously intended for her to wear, along with a pair of matching heels that made her feet throb just by looking at them.

****

***** * *** **

****

After making sure that Lena was safely on her flight, Kara had set off to find Alex and Maggie again. They were still at the bar, each sipping on their own drinks when she flopped down beside them.

 

“Hey, little Danvers! Everything okay with Lena?” Maggie asked before Alex chimed in. “You ready to go home?”

 

“Yeah she’s on her flight now, gosh I’m so excited to see Eliza! I didn’t realize how much I would miss her.”

 

“Yeah I know, it was hard for me at first too.” Alex said, pulling Kara into a quick side hug. “But then I met Maggie and now I have you here, and Lena of course. It’s kinda weird without her.”

 

“Okay you big sop she’s my girlfriend I’m supposed to be the one missing her.” she nudged Alex playfully as they finished their drinks before heading to catch their own flight.

 

 

Eliza was waiting for the three of them at the airport and pulled them each into a hug as they descended the stairs.

 

“Oh my girls! I missed you! Maggie, sweetie are you growing out your hair?”

 

“I-..”

 

“I love it! Alex my darling you look even more beautiful than you did when I last saw you!”

 

“Thanks mo-”

 

“And Kara! Let me look at you! Have you grown? Oh you look so happy my dear!”

 

The girls gave up trying to answer Eliza and just let her excitedly pull them into a group hug instead.

 

“Come on, let’s get you guys home! Gosh I’m so excited! I missed you all!” Eliza squeaked happily as she guided them towards the exit.

 

Kara felt her phone buzz in her pocket just as she was climbing into the car and she unlocked it to a text from Lena letting her know that she had made to Metropolis safely once she was seated.

 

“Kara! Are you listening!?” Alex’s voice cut through.

 

“I-.. Sorry what did you say?”

 

“Mom is asking when she gets to meet Lena?”

 

“Oh right, sorry, yeah.. Uh hopefully soon I guess.” she said with a smile. “She’s amazing Eliza, she’s so smart and funny and __kind,__ she has such a beautiful, kind heart-”

 

“Oh so __that’s__  why you’re always staring at her chest, to admire her __heart__.”

  
”Shut up Maggie!” Kara snapped, turning around in her seat to swat at the tiny detective.

 

“Girls! Enough!” Eliza called as Alex and Maggie fell into a fit of giggles in the back seat. “She sounds wonderful Kara. I look forward to meeting her.”

 

“I promised to Skype her tomorrow, maybe I could introduce you two then?”

 

“Of course, that would be wonderful darling.”

 

Kara smiled as she text Lena back.

 

* * *

 

Lena was adding the finishing touches to her look for the evening as she took in her appearance in the mirror. While it wasn’t exactly her style, the dress her mother had chosen was, much to Lena’s annoyance, beautiful. The green complemented her pale complexion perfectly and it showed just the right amount of skin without being what Lillian would deem “inappropriate”. She sent a few selfies to Kara, one of which she was pouting in and captioned “Wish I was with you.” before a knock on her door sounded throughout her room.

 

“It’s Lex, you almost ready?”

 

“Yeah just give me a sec.”

 

She grabbed her purse and slipped into her shoes before doing a final once over in the mirror, making sure that her mother would find nothing to complain about before opening the door. Lex was standing in a tailored black suit, his hair neatly gelled back and a green tie to match Lena’s dress.

 

“You look beautiful, Lee.” he said, extending an arm out to her.

 

“You don’t look too bad yourself.” she smiled, hooking her arm in his before they headed downstairs.

 

The finishing touches to the large table were being added in the dining hall as they entered. It always reminded Lena of The Great Hall at Hogwarts, without the warmth and magic. The table stretched the length of the room and was always decorated to the highest standard. Lillian was in the corner bossing the staff around like usual before she caught sight of her children.

 

“Ah, Lex be a dear and go fetch the centerpieces from the kitchen will you? Since no one around here seems to be able to do their jobs.” she scoffed in the direction of one of the members of staff that had been hired for the party.

 

Lex flashed Lena a smile before heading off to the kitchen.

 

“Lena, what on earth is with the red lipstick? You look like a bloody vampire, go rinse it off.” Lillian scalded as she took in the sight of Lena.

 

“I happen to like the vampire look, mother. It’s lovely to see you too.” Lena shot back.

 

“Oh don’t start with me now Lena, I’m too busy for this. Do you need me to organize a ride to the airport for you tomorrow or will you ride with Lex?”

 

“I-.. The airport? Why?”

 

“Ugh, do whatever you want Lena. I have things to do.” Lillian said before storming off after one of the waiters, no doubt to reprimand him for something.

 

Before she could ask any more questions, Lena felt her phone buzz as she dug it out of her purse.

 

_Kara: Oh Rao WOW! You look beautiful babe! That lipstick looks amazing on you. Xx_

****

Lena felt some of her tension melt away at Kara’s words and she sent back a simple red heart before putting her phone away and mentally preparing for the guests that would be arriving soon.

 

* * *

 

A few hours later, everyone had eaten and moved into the larger living area where Lillian had booked her regular band to play soft classical music throughout the evening. Lena had hit her limit for faking niceties and her feet were killing her. She was about to try and sneak out to find Lex before she heard her name being called. She turned around and saw her mother approaching with some no doubt snobby rich older man.

 

“Mr Carter, this is my daughter Lena. She’s currently studying at NCU after graduating a year early. Isn’t that wonderful? Lena, this is Mr Carter, CEO of CarterEnterprises.” Lillian introduced them.

 

“Pleasure to meet you Lena.” Mr Carter said, extending a hand out to her.

 

“The pleasure is all mine, Mr Carter.” Lena said, plastering her perfected fake smile onto her face and shaking his hand. “Sorry to cut this short but I really must excuse myself. It was lovely to meet you.”

 

Lena could feel her mother’s eyes burning into the back of her head as she walked out but she continued anyway, not stopping until she found Lex a little down the hallway talking to a few of his friends.

 

“Hey Lee, you good?” He asked with a smile when he saw her approaching.

 

“Yeah, uh, just sore feet I guess.” she smiled. “Mom said something earlier about the airport tomorrow, do you know what she’s talking about?”

 

Lex excused himself from his friends and offered to walk Lena up to her room. She pulled her shoes off once they were out of view of the main party area, letting out a relieved sigh at finally being able to walk normally again. The cool feeling of the floor was a welcomed comfort on her aching soles.

 

“I have a lot of work to get done during the holidays that I absolutely can’t get out of so it made sense for me to come tonight for the party, but I won’t be staying for Thanksgiving, and since it would only be the two of you, uh, mom decided it was best she just, uh, you know.. cancel the family meal.”

 

“Oh.”

 

“Yeah, so I guess she was just wondering how you were getting back to your place. I’ll be leaving early tomorrow, you’re more than welcome to ride with me to the airport if you want?”

 

“So she can’t wait to get rid of me.” Lena laughed humorlessly.

 

“Lena, come on you know it’s not like that.”

 

“Save it, Lex. I’ll get my own way to the airport since apparently mom can’t bear to look at me for longer than 24 hours.”

 

She stormed up the rest of the way to her room as she slammed the door behind her. She wanted to call Kara but decided against it. She knew that she would be having fun with her own family, Kara didn’t need to worry about Lena, and Lena didn’t want to bother her. Plus, it was nearing midnight and she would probably be asleep by now anyway.

 

Lena stripped off the dress, letting it pool on the floor and leaving it there as she dug a pair of jeans and a sweatshirt out of her bag. She tossed them on before calling a cab and grabbed the bags that she hadn’t unpacked yet, under the impression she would be staying for two weeks, before sliding on her trusty chucks and quickly leaving the house.

 

She told the cab driver that she was going to the airport before putting her earphones in and booking a flight back to National City online.

 

It wasn’t until Lena was safely inside the airport with a few hours to wait until her flight took off that she let herself cry. It was quiet in the waiting area and she was out of earshot of everyone. They weren’t so much tears of sadness, but rather frustration. Anger. She didn’t even want to go there in the first place but her own mother couldn’t stand her presence for longer than a day and despite everything, it hurt. She wanted nothing more than to be tucked under her cozy bed covers in her apartment, cuddled up with Kara.

 

It was approaching midnight when she finally calmed down a little and decided to give Kara a call despite the late hour. She wasn’t planning on telling her what happened, she just wanted to hear her voice. It rang three times before a quiet voice came through the speakers.

 

“Hello?” the voice sounded down the line.

 

“Hey babe, I’m sorry if I woke you.” Lena began before she was cut off.

 

“Oh sorry sweetie, Kara is asleep, she left her phone down here and it’s a little late to be calling so I just wanted to make sure that everything was alright? Oh, this is Eliza by the way!” the voice informed her.

 

“Eliza, I-.. Hi sorry I didn’t mean to bother you it’s- it’s nothing, I’ll call Kara in the morning.” Lena rushed out as she tried to get shaky her voice under control.

 

“Sweetie have you been crying?” Eliza asked, and even through the phone Lena could feel the concern in her tone.

 

She hadn’t meant to spill everything to Eliza, she would blame it on her exhaustion in the morning, but it just felt so good to get it all out and off her chest. She could already see why Kara and the girls spoke so fondly of her. Eliza listened while she spoke, she let Lena talk until she had said everything that she needed to say, and then she spoke up herself.

 

“Lena, sweetie, I need you to listen to me okay?” Eliza asked softly.

 

“Yeah, of course.” Lena spoke as she wiped at her eyes, she hadn’t realized she had been crying again.

 

“I need you to cancel your flight and get on the next one here. I just looked checked online and there’s one that leaves in fifteen minutes, I’ll be at the airport to pick you up as soon as it lands, alright?”

 

“Ms. Danvers, that’s very generous but I can’t.. I.. I don’t want to be a burden. I’d hate to intrude. Thank you though. I really do appreciate it.” Lena told her hesitantly. She couldn’t believe this woman that she had never even met was showing her so much kindness.

 

“Lena Luthor you will not spend thanksgiving alone, so either you get on that flight or I get on one and drag you here myself.” the woman half laughed down the line, although Lena got the vibe that she was completely serious.

 

“Are you sure?” she asked hesitantly. It really wasn’t a big deal for Lena to just go back to her own place.

 

“Of course I’m sure! Now get your butt on that plane missy! I’ll see you in a few hours.” Eliza insisted, hanging up the phone before Lena could argue any further.

 

By the time the plane touched down in Midvale, Lena was exhausted. She’ had tried to sleep on the flight but she was too nervous about meeting Eliza and wondering if Kara would be alright with her just showing up like this out of the blue. Her face was still a little red and slightly swollen from crying and it was coming up close to four in the morning when she finally located her bags and then headed to the escalator that would take her down to where Eliza was waiting for her.

 

Kara had shown her plenty of photos of her mom but Lena’s sure she would’ve recognized the blonde woman, all but jumping up and down on the balls of her feet as she waved insistently at her, without having seen them. Her feet had barely touched the ground before warm arms enveloped her in a tight hug, rocking from side to side.

 

“Lena sweetie it’s so nice to finally meet you! You’re all Kara has talked about the past few months! Gosh, let me look at you.” Eliza gushed excitedly before stepping back and taking a quick moment to look at Lena. “You’re even more beautiful in person! Oh Goodness! Get in here!” she squealed before pulling Lena back into a hug again.

 

 Lena hugged back tightly before Eliza pulled away and tucked a stray strand of Lena’s hair behind her ear. “Are you okay sweetie? Come on, let’s get you to bed you must be exhausted.”

 

“Thank you for this Ms. Danvers, it really means more to me than you know. Just say the word and I’ll be out of your hair.” Lena told her as they made their way to the exit.

 

“Oh nonsense sweetheart, you’re more than welcome here anytime. And none of that “Ms Danvers”, it’s Eliza.”

 

Lena smiled sheepishly at her as they made their way out into the parking lot where Eliza had left her car.

 

It was barely a half an hour later when they slowed to a stop outside of the Danvers’ house and Lena took a moment to take it all in. It was a nice house, it looked homey and comfortable and didn’t give off the same type of intimidating vibe that the Luthor house did. Once she was done taking in the sight of everything around her, Lena rounded the car and let Eliza help her inside with her bags.

 

“Kara’s room is straight upstairs, second door on the left. And the bathroom is first on the right.” Eliza whispered softly as Lena gently closed the front door behind her. “If you need anything else, my room is just through there. Please don’t hesitate.”

 

“Thanks again Eliza I-.. Thank you.” Lena whispered back sincerely.

 

Eliza placed a soft kiss on her forehead before Lena slid off her shoes and tiptoed upstairs, careful not to wake anyone as she headed into the bathroom to clean up and change before bed. She brushed her teeth and pulled on a pair of her pyjamas before heading across the hall.

 

Lena was unable to contain her smile as she took in the large gold glittery letters that spelled out “KARA” on the bedroom door before gently opening it and slipping inside. Kara was asleep, adorably snuggled up in her fluffy pink pajamas that Lena knew from experienced were extremely cozy when they were cuddled around her. She pulled the covers back gently, careful not to wake her sleeping girlfriend, before slipping in and curling up on her side of the bed. Kara shifted in her sleep to spoon her like she always did and Lena was asleep instantly, the stress of the day immediately dissipating as strong arms pulled her closer as Kara nuzzled into her neck.

 

* * *

 

“Lena?!”

 

Lena was jolted awake as the bed shook and Kara jumped up. The blinds were closed but the room was significantly lighter than it had been earlier and the soft rays of sun creeping in from the little gap between the curtains indicated that it was clearly morning.

 

“What are you doing here? How did you- What?!” Kara exclaimed as she took in the sight of Lena laying in her bed for a moment before a cheeky grin flashed across her face, the shook of seeing her here quickly turning into something else.

 

Before Lena could even open her mouth to answer, Kara had hopped back onto the bed and her lips were on hers. She gasped into the kiss and Kara took the opportunity to slip her tongue into Lena’s mouth, it was everything that she had been needing and Lena quickly felt herself relax, letting Kara take control of the kiss as she basked in the moment. She brought her hands up to toy loosely with the baby hairs on the back of Kara’s neck as Kara’s own hands roamed up and down the expanse of her ribs. The only sounds that could be heard throughout the room were the wet smacking of their lips paired with the occasional gasp from each of them, and it wasn’t until Lena felt Kara’s warm hands sneak under the hem of her shirt and grip at her hips that she snapped back to reality.

 

“Kara.. Mhm.. Babe.. We’re at your.. Your mom’s house.” she managed to get out between kisses.

 

It took a few more seconds for Kara to register what Lena had even said before she pulled away, both of them struggling slightly for breath and more than a little flushed.

 

“I’m sorry.” Kara breathed a laugh before planting a kiss on Lena’s cheek and then rolling off of her. “How did you get here? I thought you were going back to Metropolis?”

 

“I did.” Lena said, placing her head on Kara’s chest as her fingers automatically found their way into Lena’s hair and stroked it as she spoke.

 

Lena explained explained everything to Kara whilst Kara scratched comfortingly at her scalp. She wasn’t used to this, she never had anyone to comfort her like this before. Usually, Lena would just pick herself up and move on without ever talking anything through, but she found that she actually didn’t mind sharing things with Kara. She never felt judged when she was with her, she simply felt heard.

 

“Oh babe I’m so sorry. You’re amazing Lena, and you looked beautiful last night. If your mom doesn’t want to spend time with you then I know of four people who missed you all day yesterday are so glad you’re here.” Kara spoke softly, kissing the top of her head before sitting up again. “Come on, let’s go get breakfast. Alex and Maggie will be so excited that you’re here!”

 

“Speak of the devils.” Kara turned to Lena when she opened the bedroom door and her eyes fell on Alex and Maggie emerging from Alex’s room. “Lena’s here.” Kara told them both as Lena followed behind Kara and stepped out into the hallway.

 

“Yeah we heard, I’m sorry about your mom kid.” Maggie told her with a playful nudge as they started heading down the stairs. “But hey, you’re with us now and that’s all that matters right? We’ll have fun.”

 

“We also heard your _activities_  so maybe keep that in mind next time. If I wanted to hear that I’d open PornHub.” Alex added in teasingly.

 

“Or my legs.” Maggie muttered before both she and Lena erupted into laughter and Kara dramatically dry heaved as Alex swatted at her.

 

“Good morning girls! What’s so funny?” Eliza appeared at the bottom of the stairs, a smile plastered on her face as she took in the sight of the four of them.

 

“Uh, nothing mom. Kara is just a dumbass.” Alex told her with another laugh.

 

“Am not!” Kara shot back with a scowl.

 

The whole playful family bickering thing was completely foreign to Lena, the Luthors were always at one anothers throats, so it was a refreshing change to watch how the Danvers interacted.

 

“Did you guys sleep well?” Eliza asked them, setting a pitcher of orange juice on the table as they each took a seat around it.

 

The girls collectively mumbled their answers whilst Eliza fetched the rest of the food from the kitchen before taking her own seat at the head of the table. Kara was seated to Lena’s left and flashed her a smile before reaching down to rest her hand on Lena’s bare thigh just below the hem of her shorts beneath the table, it was edging almost inappropriate high and Lena struggled to keep a neutral expression.

 

“How are you feeling today sweetie?” Eliza quietly leaned in and asked Lena whilst Kara and Maggie fought over a stack of pancakes in the middle of the table.

 

“Much better, thank you so much Eliza. Really. This is amazing.” Lena told her sincerely.

 

“You don’t have to keep thanking me, it’s my pleasure sweetheart.” she said, gently squeezing her hand before swatting everyone’s forks away from the pancake stack and giving the plate to Lena so that she could take some.

 

“So girls, any plans for the day?” Eliza asked as they dug into their breakfast. “I’ll be working late tonight so you’ll have to fend for yourselves for dinner I’m afraid.”

 

“Maggie and I were gonna go spend the day in town, maybe catch a movie or something and get dinner after so we’ll be fine. You guys are welcome to join?” Alex said, nodding in Kara and Lena’s direction.

 

“I-” Lena began before Kara cut her off, squeezing her thigh a little tighter as she caressed it with her thumb.

 

“No.. No, thank you though. We’re gonna uh.. We’ll get our own dinner.” Kara blabbed in Alex’s direction before stuffing an overly large forkful of pancakes into her mouth.

 

“Okay..” Alex replied, eyebrow furrowed in slight confusion as she watched Kara. “If you’re sure.”

 

“Yep.. Yes.. I am.. Sure.. Yes I am.”

 

Lena shot her a questioning look before she started eating her own breakfast and tried to ignore the heat softly brewing in the pit of her stomach as Kara’s thumb continued to gently stroke her inner thigh.

 

After Eliza left for work, Alex and Maggie headed upstairs to get showered and ready for the day whilst Kara and Lena settled on the couch in the living room. They were each still in their pyjamas and a repeat episode of one of their favorite shows was playing in the background.

 

“So what are we doing today?” Lena asked, nuzzling her head into Kara’s neck.

 

“I have a few ideas.” Kara replied nonchalantly, eyes still glued to the television as her hand slowly crept up Lena’s leg once more.

 

Lena could feel heart rate pick up at the implication and she struggled to calm herself, wanting to make sure that Kara meant what she thought she meant before she got ahead of herself.

 

“Mhm.. Really?” she whispered into her neck with as much stability as she could before letting her lips lightly brush the skin there, smirking as Kara’s eyes fluttered closed momentarily before she returned her focus back to the screen.

 

“Okay guys, we’re leaving!” Alex yelled from hallway.

 

“See you later!” Maggie called after her. “Condoms are under the sink in the bathroom if you need any!”

 

“Shut up Maggie! Kara yelled. “Have fun you guys!”

 

Barely a second had passed from when Lena heard the door close before Kara sat up and flipped them, laying Lena down on her back before straddling her. She froze for a second, heart racing wildly in her chest as she stared down at Lena who mirrored her exact reaction, green eyes looking up at her in a silent question.

 

Their lips crashed together, tongues darting out immediately to meet the other as Lena clawed desperately at any part of Kara that she could reach. She felt as though she had been encompassed in a wave of liquid heat, every part of her body was alight, flowing through her veins and settling between her legs like molten lava.

 

Kara pulled back a little and muttered something that Lena didn’t quite catch, too busy trying to chase Kara’s lips before succeeding and moulding their mouths back together again. It wasn’t until she felt hands on the underside of each of her thighs and the sudden comfort of the couch gone from beneath her back that she realized what Kara had said.

 

_Hold on._

 

She gripped onto the back of Kara’s neck as she picked her up from the couch, legs wrapping securely around her waist to make sure that she didn’t fall. Not that she didn’t trust Kara not to drop her, she just wasn’t sure that Kara’s focus was 100% on that right now.

 

“What are you doing?” Lena gasped, smothering her neck with kisses as Kara walked.

 

“My bed.. Reinforced steel.. Won’t break.” Kara panted out as they reached the top of the stairs.

 

Her bedroom door was flung open and Kara quickly deposited Lena onto the bed before crawling back up on top and joining their lips once again. Lena spread her thighs and Kara settled her hips between them, toying with the hem of Lena’s shirt.

 

“God, please..” Lena gasped, answering Kara’s question before she even had the chance to ask it. “Can I?” she gestured to Kara’s button up pyjamas and Kara eagerly nodded yes.

 

Lena felt as though she was about to combust from the heat alone as she desperately undid the buttons on Kara’s shirt with trembling fingers while Kara pushed her own shirt up, disconnecting their mouths for a second to pull Lena’s shirt over her head before letting her own fall from her shoulders.

 

Kara felt her brain short circuit for a second as she took in Lena beneath her, completely bare. Oh Rao, there was so much skin, so many curves. She felt her mouth water as she took in perfectly rounded breasts and dusty pink nipples, so different from her own but the most perfect sight that she had ever seen.

 

“God, you’re such a boobs girl.” Lena teased as Kara snapped back to reality.

 

“I.. You.. Perfect” was all Kara could get out before she slowly leaned down to place a kiss on Lena’s sternum.

 

Lena was about to ask Kara to remove her own bra but was cut off when she felt a hand palm at her breasts and a moan tore it’s way from her throat. Kara moved from her neck, placing desperate, sloppy open mouthed kisses over the valley of breasts before sucking one into her mouth. Lena gripped onto the back of her head, desperate to keep her in place as she felt a soft tongue slowly swirl around her nipple while careful fingers pinched at the other. The tension coiling in her abdomen was almost unbearable and she jerked her her hips up, desperate to alleviate some of the throbbing as she let out another moan. She felt Kara’s tongue stop working on her nipple as her hand abruptly stopped teasing the other.

 

Lena moved her hands from the back of Kara’s head to cup her face and pull her up to look at her.

 

“Hey, you okay?” she asked softly, voice laced with concern as she eyed Kara carefully.

 

“I-.. God Lena I’m so sorry.” Kara sighed defeatedly, eyes brimming with tears as she spoke. “I thought.. I thought I was ready but I just.. I-..”

 

“Hey, hey it’s okay. I told you, whenever you need to stop, we stop. Don’t feel bad, okay? It’s totally fine. God, come here.” Lena said, pulling her up to lay on her chest. “It’s fine Kara, I love you and whenever you’re ready I’ll be here, okay? Please don’t feel bad.”

 

Lena felt Kara tense up where she lay, and it took her a moment to realize why.

 

“You.. You love me?” Kara asked quietly, soft blue eyes looked up adoringly at her and Lena felt her heart clench.

 

“I-.. Of course I do.” she whispered back sincerely.

 

“I love you, too.” Kara beamed with the biggest smile that Lena had ever seen plastered on her face. “I love you, Lena.”

 

They lay in silence for a while, just enjoying the moment and basking in the feeling of one another before Lena spoke up.

 

“Do you wanna go do something today? We can stay here if you want, but I’m dying to explore around here.” Lena asked Kara as she lifted her head to look at her. “You can show me all of your favorite spots.”

 

“Yea we can totally do that.” Kara smiled before sitting up and shyly handing Lena back her previously discarded t shirt.

 

“Thank you, I’m gonna go shower.” Lena told her before slipping her shirt back on and getting up from the bed.

 

“Lena?” Kara’s voice stopped her just before she stepped out of the door.

 

“Hmm?” She hummed questioningly in reply.

 

“You’re beautiful. Like, really really beautiful. Like-”

 

“Thank you.” Lena laughed, cutting Kara off with a quick kiss. “You are too.” she added before rushing off to the bathroom. Typically, she would’ve spent a little more time with Kara and actually taken a moment to enjoy the compliment, but she had a much more pressing matter to attend to.

 

Lena waited until she was under the steady stream of water before closing her eyes and letting her hand slip south to take care of herself. Memories of the day flashed across her mind as she worked her fingers over herself, desperately wishing that they were Kara’s.

 

 


	9. Chapter 9

 

 

Lena was halfway through putting on her socks when Kara emerged from the bathroom and rummaged through her drawers in search of a pair of her own. She was dressed casually in cuffed jeans and a navy blue sweatshirt, her hair hanging loosely in a messy bun with a few stray pieces framing her face and Lena found herself staring. She had always found Kara beautiful but being here, in Kara’s childhood home, knowing that her family had welcomed her so openly, it hit her just how truly beautiful Kara was. She was kind and selfless and compassionate and Lena had told her she loved her. Lena didn’t tell people things like that. She hadn’t meant to say it, not that she didn’t feel it or mean it, but it had just slipped out and she felt overwhelmed in the best way possible.

 

“Hello, earth to Lena.” Kara smiled, waving a hand in front of her face as she snapped out of her thoughts. “You okay?” she questioned, a little concern in her voice this time.

 

“Yeah, yeah I’m okay. Better than okay.” Lena made her mind up as she spoke. She loved Kara. Kara loved her. This was fine. This was good. She hooked her fingers into Kara’s belt loops and pulled her down to straddle her lap where she sat on the edge of the bed. “I-.. I love you. I love you.”

 

Kara’s cheeks flushed pink as she wrapped her arms around Lena’s neck and looked down into her eyes. She knew Lena had trouble expressing her feelings sometimes so hearing those words from her meant more to Kara than she could say.

 

“I love you too, Lena.” she told her with as much sincerity as she could in her gaze before leaning down a little and placing a soft kiss on her lips. And then another. And another.

 

“Come on, lets go get our coats.” Kara said, climbing down from her lap and extending a hand out to her.

 

* * *

 

“Are you going to tell me where we’re going?” Lena questioned as she hooked a gloved hand through Kara’s arm and snuggled in close while they walked down the street.

 

“I know you’re just trying to steal my heat.” Kara laughed earning a scoff from Lena before kissing her forehead as they continued to walk. “You’ll just have to wait and see. Patience is a virtue, dear.”

 

They strolled for a while, making their way out of Kara’s neighborhood and down into the main part of the town whilst Kara pointed out random spots and told Lena stories associated with them from when she was a kid.

 

“Oh, you see that tree there?”

 

“Mhm.” Lena nodded in reply.

 

She enjoyed listening to Kara talk and just taking in the sights of being somewhere new, with no worries about anything else and nowhere else to be. It was different, actually being able to relax during a break. She’d usually be desperate to go back to school after spending a week or two cooped up with her mother. But this, with Kara, was perfect.

 

“Alex tried to climb it once after some kid dared her, she got halfway up and then sneezed.” Kara began to giggle as she spoke. “She sneezed so hard she lost her grip and broke her arm! It wasn’t really funny at the time, I was terrified but it’s fun to joke about now.” she finished, her giggling now coming out as full blown laughter.

 

Lena struggled to imagine the badass detective that she had come to know as a competitive kid falling out of a tree and the mere thought of it made her laugh. Plus, it was always helpful to be armed with stories like that for when Lena found herself being teased by Alex.

 

“Oh crap! I’m sorry!” Kara called out as she abruptly stopped walking.

 

“What’s wrong? Are you alright?” Lena rushed, giving Kara a once over with her eyes to make sure she was okay.

 

“Yeah it’s just, there’s a thunder storm coming.” Kara told her, looking up at the sky.”I can hear it.”

 

“You can hear it..?” Lena questioned. “What the fu- uudge” she finished, knowing that Kara, whilst she did her best to hide it, always winced a little when people cursed around her. Lena found it adorable.

 

“Yeah, it always hums a little right before it happens. I was gonna take you to the beach but it doesn’t seem like the best idea now.”

 

Lena could hear the disappointment in Kara’s voice as she spoke.

 

“We could go back home and watch a movie?” Lena offered up.

 

“Sure, that sounds great.” she smiled. “We still have a little time before the rain should be starting though, come on.” Kara gripped onto Lena’s hand once again and led her down the street, moving a little quicker than they had been previously.

 

After a few minutes of speed walking along the variety of store windows, Kara stopped and pulled them into a small shop on the corner that Lena’s sure she would’ve missed had it not been for her girlfriend.

 

The bell chimed softly above the door as it swung open and Kara smiled widely at Lena, taking in her reaction. It was a tiny bookshop. Each of the walls were lined floor to ceiling with a range of different books and fairy lights were scattered around the place giving it a warm glow. It smelled of new books and something vaguely like chocolate. There was a large padded maroon couch in the corner with a variety of funky looking cushions laying on it. It was Lena’s own personal heaven.

 

“Woah, this place is incredible.” Lena whispered reverently, taking it all in.

 

“I knew you’d love it.” Kara smiled, bringing their interlocked hands up to kiss the back of Lena’s softly.

 

“Kara?” a voice called from behind them.

 

“Frank! Hi!” Kara beamed as they turned around.

 

A plump elderly man greeted her with a large smile. It reminded Lena of one of Kara’s. She giggled to herself as she took in his appearance. The man himself reminded Lena of Santa Claus, warm and jolly with white hair and a white beard.

 

“It’s lovely to see you again! I hope university is treating you well, you certainly look happy.” Frank told Kara before turning to Lena. “Hi, I’m Frank. I own the store.” he told her with another smile.

 

“Oh, wow. It’s lovely to meet you. It’s amazing in here.” Lena said, gesturing to the store.

 

“Frank, this is my girlfriend, Lena.” Kara beamed.

 

“Well it’s lovely to meet you Lena. You’ve got a good one here.” he gestured to Kara and Lena wrapped an arm around Kara’s waist as she smiled in agreement.

 

“Likewise. Really, this place is beautiful.”

 

“Well, I’ll leave you guys to it.” Frank said, clapping his hands together. “Hot chocolate?” He asked Kara.

 

“Oh yes please.” she squeaked excitedly. “We’ll have it to go though please!”

 

Frank disappeared into the back room that Lena guessed he’d come out of when they’d entered.

 

“This place does the best hot chocolate!” Kara beamed. “I used to come here a lot with Eliza when they first adopted me. I’m not sure why but it always seemed to calm me down. Come on, I know you’re dying to look at the books.” she laughed.

 

They emerged a little over ten minutes later, Lena had picked out a few books and they each held their hot chocolate as Kara happily swung their intertwined hands back and forth between them. She had to give it to Kara, the drink was delicious.

 

They were still at least a twenty minute walk from the house when the rain started to fall. It started out soft as they picked up the pace a little but within a few minutes it was battering down against them. Kara abruptly stopped and handed Lena her half empty cup and, before Lena could question why, she was squatting down in front of her a little.

 

“Quick! Hop on!” She called over the battering of the rain on the pavement.

 

Lena took the hint and jumped onto Kara’s back as she began to run, maybe a little faster than humanly possible but in her soaking wet, freezing cold state she couldn’t bring herself to care. Lena was thankful that their drinks were half finished as they sloshed around in the cup, thankfully not spilling over.

 

They made it back to the house in record time, dumping their coats and wet socks and shoes at the door as they stepped into the welcomed warmth before padding barefoot up to Kara’s room to strip off the rest of their clothes and put on some dry ones.

 

“Do you want me to turn around?” Lena asked awkwardly once both of them had stripped down until only their underwear remained, watching as Kara picked up a dry pair for them both.

 

Instead of answering, Kara bent down and peeled her own off, smirking slightly as Lena flushed red.

 

“I’m not a prude, babe.” she laughed, pulling on her dry pair before tossing the others into her hamper. It took Lena a moment to collect herself before changing her own and then pulling on some warm, dry clothes.

 

They spent the rest of the day in their comfy clothes watching movies before deciding to order a pizza for dinner. Lena was contently snuggled into Kara’s side, head resting on her shoulder as she fought against her eyelids trying to close on her. She guessed that she must have lost the battle against sleep when she stirred a few hours later, finding herself snuggled up in Kara’s bed with a lightly snoring Kara curled up behind her

 

* * *

 

Lena woke up early on thanksgiving morning with Kara curled into her chest. She was perfectly content to lay there a little while longer so she carefully reached over to the nightstand for one of the books that she had purchased the other day, careful not to wake Kara. The front cover stared up and her and she felt excitement rush through her as she looked down at it. Lena knew that Maggie would most likely tease her relentlessly if she could see the sheer joy on her face right now but she didn’t care. The rush that accompanied a new book always excited her, a whole other world lay in her hands just waiting to be discovered. She sat up a little and Kara’s arms remained firm around her waist, her head now snuggling into Lena’s stomach instead of her chest as she opened the book and started to read. Kara began to slowly stir a few chapters in, mumbling nonsense under her breath before her eyes sleepily fluttered open.

 

“Hey.” Lena smiled down softly at her. “Happy Thanksgiving.”

 

“Happy Thanksgiving.” Kara smiled back, reaching up to press her lips softly against Lena’s before settling back down where she had been laying. “Good book?”

 

“Mhm. Very.” Lena nodded.

 

Kara smiled as she watched Lena completely immersed in her book. She took in the sharp edge of her jaw, tensing every so often when she got to an exciting part of the story. Her forest green eyes, skimming over the words, and the way her eyelashes fluttered as she blinked. She lay there for a while, enjoying the rise and fall of Lena’s breathing as she looked up into her face.

 

“Hey, Lena?” Kara spoke softly after a while.

 

Lena tore her eyes away from her book and looked down at Kara, waiting for her to continue.

 

“Read to me?” she asked shyly, nuzzling even closer into Lena’s waist.

 

“Of course.” Lena beamed, tucking strand of Kara’s hair behind her ear.

 

And so she did. Kara lay there with a hand underneath Lena’s shirt, drawing lazy circles on her soft stomach as Lena’s voice filled the room.

 

* * *

 

Later that evening found the five of them all sat around the table in the dining room. There was barely any table space left, what with all the food that was spread out on it. Eliza, Alex, Maggie and Kara were each sat around it chatting excitedly with one another as Lena looked around. So __this__  is what a real family thanksgiving looks like. No staff running around with trays, no snarky comments, no tension. Just food and laughter. She liked it.

 

“Okay guys you know the drill.” Eliza said as she clapped her hands together. “Who want to go first?”

 

Lena shot Kara a questioning gaze before Kara smiled and stood up.

 

“I’ll go.”

 

Everyone quietened around the table as their gazes fell on Kara.

 

“I have a lot to be thankful for this year. I’m thankful to be a lot closer to Alex, even though I miss you a lot, Eliza.” Kara smiled at her mom. “I’m thankful to be attending a great school with great people. I’m thankful for Alex and Maggie, even though you guys drive me insane most of the time.” Kara laughed as Maggie raised a glass in her direction with a smirk. “And lastly, I’m thankful for you, Lena. These past few months have been the best of my life and I owe that all to you. I’m thankful to have you here with us today, even though the circumstances weren’t the best. I’m thankful for your heart, for the way you accept me for who I am without judgement. I’m thankful for you. I love you.”

 

“Aw the baby is gonna cry.” Maggie’s cooed from her seat as she looked over at Lena.

 

“Shut up, Maggie!” she called out as everyone laughed.

 

They continued around the table, listening to both Alex and then Maggie say what they were thankful for before their eyes fell on Lena.

 

“You don’t have to if you don’t want to, sweetie.” Eliza smiled at her.

 

“Oh no it’s fine, I’ll go.”

 

Lena stood up, wringing her hands together, feeling slightly more nervous than she should’ve felt. There were only four other people in the room, this wasn’t a big deal. She cleared her throat before beginning.

 

“I- uh.. I’m thankful to be here. Really thankful to be here. I thought families like this one only existed in movies.” she laughed awkwardly. “Eliza, I’m thankful that you welcomed me into your home so openly. It really means more to me than I can say. Same with you guys.” she turned to Alex and Maggie. “Sunday dinner at your place is my favorite time of the week. Even though all you do is tease me.” everyone laughed. “And Kara. You- You’re the best thing that’s ever happened to me. You’re kind and funny you have the biggest heart of anyone that I’ve ever known. You’re everything good in this world and honestly, I’m not convinced that I deserve you but I’m going to do everything I can to make you happy.”

 

“Aw is the baby gonna propose?” Alex chimed in this time as Maggie snorted beside her.

 

“Girls.” Eliza warned them before she stood up to take her own turn.

 

Kara reached for her hand under the table when Lena sat down and placed a quick kiss on cheek as Eliza began talking.

 

“I’m thankful for my girls, Alex and Kara, I miss you guys a lot but I’m so incredibly happy that you’re both happy and that you have one another. I’m thankful to have such an amazing job and that I’m able to help and heal people. I’m thankful for Maggie and Lena, thank you guys for making my girls so happy. Lena, it’s been amazing getting to know you and I’m so thankful to have you here with us this year.” she finished with a smile.

 

Eliza carved the turkey as they each dug into the food. Kara was in heaven, her plate stacked impossibly high with servings of every type of food that covered the table as she dove in. The meal was incredible, Eliza had spent the better part of the day cooking everything and everyone voiced their opinion on how great it was while they thanked her.

 

A beeping noise sounded throughout the room as Eliza appeared with dessert.

 

“Oh no. I’m so sorry girls. I have to go!” she said as she grabbed her pager.

 

“Don’t worry mom, we’ll clean up.” Kara told her.

 

They knew she was on call and might have to go into the hospital at some point, which sucked for everyone, but thankfully she had made it through dinner before having to leave.

 

“Thanks for dinner Eliza, it was incredible!” Lena called out as she left.

 

“Yeah, thanks mom!”

 

“Thank you, Eliza!”

 

The four of them took their dirty dishes into the kitchen and washed up together before heading back to the table to enjoy their dessert, opting to eat the pie straight from the tray so that they wouldn’t have to dirty any more plates and cutlery.

 

“Okay mom is gone for the night.” Alex said, putting a few different bottles of booze down on the table once they had finished eating. “I won’t tell if you guys don’t.” she turned to Kara and Lena.

 

Of course, Alex and Maggie were old enough to drink but Eliza would’ve never permitted Kara and Lena to.

 

“You’re the best!” Kara called out, reaching for one of the bottles.

 

She was cut short by Maggie’s hand gripping her arm.

 

“You better not fucking drunk dial Eliza again to tell her how much you love her like you did last year!” she warned Kara as Lena tried not to laugh.

 

“I won’t.” Kara mumbled with a pout. “It’s not my fault that I’m a loving drunk.”

 

Maggie let her go and she successfully lifted the bottle up from the table this time. Alex put some music on the stereo and they all grabbed a few bottles and headed into the living room.

 

“You might wanna go easy on the vodka babe, it didn’t turn out so well last time.” Lena teased, vividly remembering the strong smell of it on her breath back on Halloween night when they had almost kissed.

 

“I’d have to disagree.” Kara replied, pulling Lena in closer. “I got you that night.”

 

“That you did.” she smiled into their kiss.

 

A few hours and a significant amount of booze later found the four of them slow dancing in the middle of the living room whilst the music floated out of the speakers. They had cleared the floor space earlier in the night to allow them more room to dance without the risk of breaking anything. Lena’s arms were linked around Kara’s neck, her head resting on her chest whilst Kara’s arms wrapped tightly around her waist, her chin resting atop her hair. Their height difference was a lot more noticeable when they were standing so close to one another but neither one of them minded, Lena adored the way they fit together as they swayed to the soft tune of the music.

 

_We are still kids, but we're so in love_   
_Fighting against all odds_   
_I know we'll be alright_

_Well I found a woman, stronger than anyone I know_   
_She shares my dreams, I hope that someday I'll share her home_   
_I found a love, to carry more than just my secrets, to carry love._

 

“I love you.”

 

“I love you, too.”

 


	10. Chapter 10

 

 

Life got busy after the girls returned to National City from Thanksgiving break. Everyone was on edge, doing barely anything but studying for their upcoming exams and attending lectures with the occasional meltdown thrown in. Lena was accustomed to this kind of pressure, she had been putting it on herself for her whole life so she thrived in this type of environment. Some people may say that she overdoes it, but it works for her. Kara, however, was struggling a little. Kara was smart, really smart. Lena had noticed this about her and it was one of the things that she loved, but she had also noticed Kara’s tendency to get distracted and in turn, she would distract Lena.

 

Lena had tried to study with her, she really had, but fifteen minutes in their books had been discarded and Lena found herself once again topless and pinned beneath Kara engaging in a heavy make out session, after which she was so worked up that she had to sneak off to the bathroom once Kara had fallen asleep. Which is how Lena found herself asleep on the floor of her apartment, face down in a book after having not seen Kara for the past four days. They each had their big physics exam tomorrow and after Lena refused to see anyone the week leading up to it so that she could study undisturbed, Kara decided that she should probably go study too. She had spent the last four days pouring over her notes and she felt confident that she was ready for the exam, and she knew that if she was ready then Lena was most definitely ready.

 

After she had packed away her work for the evening, Kara tried calling Lena in the hopes that they could spend the night relaxing before having to get up early the next morning. She didn’t answer but Kara wasn’t overly concerned, she knew that Lena would no doubt be overworking herself. She decided to just head over to Lena’s apartment instead, hoping that she could convince her to take a no doubt well needed study break.

 

Kara knocked twice on Lucy’s door before leaving to let her know that she was heading out, choosing to ignore the muffled gasps and giggles coming from behind the door.

 

“Hey, Luce. I’m gonna head over to Lena’s. I’ll see you in a bit.” she called out.

 

“ ‘Kay bye!” Lucy called before a second voice also yelled goodbye.

 

Kara crossed her arms tightly around herself, face down in an attempt to ease the slight sting from the cold December wind whipping all around her as she headed to Lena’s apartment. The temperature had dropped significantly in the past few weeks but Kara didn’t mind, she enjoyed all of the seasons, plus the colder it got meant the closer it was to Christmas and she adored Christmas. Her mind drifted to gift ideas for her loved ones, she had a few ideas already and a few things to sort out but all in all, she was excited. She made a quick stop at the store just down the street from Lena’s apartment building to get some junk food - chips, candy, chocolate, soda - just the usual. She knew Lena probably hadn’t eaten either so, much to her disgust, she picked up a ready made salad and a fruit smoothie.

 

She arrived at Lena’s place not long after, rubbing her hands together in an attempt to get some more warmth back into them. The bag rustled loudly as she made her way down the hallway and she couldn’t wait to spend the night just pigging out and relaxing with Lena. It had only been four days, and she would’ve hated herself for turning into __that__  girl who is constantly glued at the hip to her girlfriend, but she was just so happy that she couldn’t bring herself to care.

 

Kara knocked twice when she finally arrived outside Lena’s door, but when there was no answer she pulled out her phone and tried calling her once again. She heard her ringtone immediately, but it became clear after a few moments that Lena wasn’t going to pick up the call.

 

“Lena? It’s Kara! I can hear your phone ringing!” she yelled through the closed door.

 

Still nothing.

 

Kara knows that she shouldn’t do it, Alex will kill her if she finds out, but she was starting to panic a little and she decided to deal with whatever consequences she had to if Alex were to find out. Kara slipped her glasses down, just enough to peer over the top of the rim and quickly x-ray Lena’s apartment. She spotted her immediately, sprawled out on the floor surrounded by paper and books, her laptop screen open in front of her. Her face was tilted towards the door and she was snoring softy, a little drool dripping down onto the book she was sleeping on.

 

“Oh, Lena.” Kara muttered before trying the handle.

 

It was unlocked and the door easily swung open. In hindsight, she maybe should’ve tried that __before__  breaking out her powers but what’s done is done. Kara set the bag of treats down on the kitchen counter as she entered the apartment and took in the sight of Lena on the floor in front of her. She debated letting her sleep a little longer, Kara knew that she probably hadn’t slept much the past few days but it was only a little after dinner time and she also knew that if she let Lena sleep all day then she wouldn’t sleep tonight, and then she wouldn’t be well rested for her exam tomorrow. It was times like this when Kara remembered that Lena was the younger of the two. She always seemed so mature and put together, already living the life of an adult at seventeen years old. Kara sat down on the floor and drew soft patterns on her back as she watched her face for a moment. Her mouth was all pouty and adorable and she found herself really wanting to kiss her.

 

“Lena, babe, wake up” Kara whispered softly, careful not to startle her as she continued the patterns that she was tracing on her back. “Babe.. you gotta get up.”

 

Kara watched as her eyelids fluttered open before Lena let out a groan of pain and slowly pulled herself up into a sitting position.

 

“What time is it?” she grumbled, still half asleep as she attempted to massage the knots out of her neck.

 

“It’s a little after four.” Kara told her, standing up and extending a hand out to help Lena up off the floor. “Come on, you’ve studied enough.”

 

“No I have to-” she turned around to point at the stack of papers that she had clearly been working through before dozing off, but she was cut off by Kara.

 

“Lena, you’ve done enough. Have you even eaten today?”

 

Kara took Lena’s pouty grumbling as a no and directed her to one of the stools at the island in the kitchen.

 

“Here, I picked you up a salad and a smoothie.” she handed the food to Lena before softly gripping her head and planting a kiss on it. “Eat.”

 

It was weird for Lena, having someone take care of her. She had always been alone up until this point, she never had anyone to tell her when she was overdoing it. Despite the clawing feeling inside of her chest that was telling her that she __had__ to go back to studying, she was sort of enjoying being taken care of.

 

“You know you really need to chill out sometimes.” Kara said, pulling out a bag of chips as Lena tucked into her salad, she hadn’t realized just how hungry she was until she had actually started eating.

 

“I didn’t graduate a year early by chilling out.” Lena told her, forked raised at her mouth mid bite.

 

“Yeah but you already did it. It’s done now, you don’t have to rush this. By all means, study whatever you need to but then you have to take time to relax.”

 

“And how do you suppose I do that..” Lena smirked, her left eyebrow raising suggestively. “Any suggestions?”

 

Kara felt her mouth go dry. Oh Rao.

 

“You know what I mean.” she muttered, knowing that her face had flushed red if the smug grin on Lena’s face was any indication.

 

Lena loved teasing her, it was adorable how flustered Kara got. Sometimes she struggled to compare the flustered, blushing Kara Danvers that couldn’t made eye contact when Lena teased her about sex to the confident, insanely hotKara Danvers that could reduce Lena to a desperate pile of mush with her tongue in her mouth and a simple swipe of her finger over one of Lena’s breasts.

 

However it’s not something that Lena would consider relaxing, per se. Enjoyable, yes. Hot, extremely. But not exactly relaxing. She had never been so wound up in her entire life. She didn’t blame Kara, not at all, she completely understood her reasons for not being ready and Lena had every intention of being patient and waiting until it was what Kara wanted too, no pressure or rushing things. But that didn’t mean that it was easy.

 

Each time the pad of Kara’s soft, soft fingers brushed past her breast or circled around her nipple it took every ounce of her control not to scream out. Or when Kara’s lips latched onto her skin and sucked gently, she had to bite down on her own lips to stop herself from demanding that Kara move down to where she __desperately__ needed her to be sucking.

 

Bottom line, Lena was horny. Like.. all the time. She had hoped a few days away from Kara to focus on studying would help her ease up a little but now that Kara was standing in front of her she quickly realized that it had done the complete opposite.

 

“Hey, you okay?” Kara asked, brow furrowed in concern as she eyed Lena.

 

Lena hadn’t realized that she had been lost in her thoughts and she didn’t really feel like getting into the conversation right now.

 

“Yeah, sorry, just a little tired I guess.” she shrugged.

 

“Lena.” Kara said sternly, clearly not buying it.

 

She smiled in an attempt to convince Kara that she was okay, which she was. She just also happened to be hopelessly turned on. One of the many downfalls to being raised by a family like the Luthors was that the second anyone showed Lena genuine care and compassion, she was mush. And when that person also happened to be her beautiful, smart, strong and incredibly sexy Kryptonian girlfriend well, it turned her on to no end.

 

“I’m fine I promise. Can we just talk about it later?” she begged, trying to dismiss the conversation as quickly as she could.

 

“Of course.” Kara told her, picking up the now empty salad container from the counter in front of Lena and tossing it into the trash for her.

 

Once they had cleared up the mess of scattered worksheets and all of Lena’s books and stationary and other bits and bobs that had fallen out of place during the past few days, they settled on Lena’s bed to watch some animated movie that Kara insisted she had to watch because _what do you mean you’ve never seen Frozen, Lena?!_

She hit play on the remote control and Lena quickly realized that the movie was a musical and giggled as Kara animatedly sang along to the first few songs. It wasn’t until about a quarter of the way through that Kara pulled one of Lena’s legs up onto her lap to lay atop her own two and absentmindedly began tracing patterns with her fingers over the denim of Lena’s jeans.

 

It didn’t take long until she was squirming under the touch. Her head was resting on Kara’s chest, her left side pressed into the mattress while her right leg hooked over Kara’s waist and she tried desperately to calm herself down before it escalated. Lena had never felt like this before and she wasn’t sure if she loved or hated it. Before she could decide, Kara was reaching for the remote and paused the movie before turning to look at her, She had stopped her movements but her hand was still resting warmly on Lena’s leg.

 

“Okay, what’s up?”

 

“What do you mean?” she tried to play dumb but faltered under Kara’s stern gaze.

 

“Lena, whatever it is you can tell me.” Kara said, gaze softening as she looked at her. “Did I-.. Is it me? Have I done something wrong? Or something that upset you? You can talk me, I won’t get mad.”

 

“God, no Kara of course not. It’s what you’re doing right that’s the problem.” Lena breathed a laugh.

 

Kara’s brow furrowed in confusion, unsure what that meant. She gently began rubbing her leg again, urging Lena to continue.

 

“I just- I.. I’m.. You make me- I..” she couldn’t think of any other way to say it other than just come right out with it, so she took a deep breath, sitting up to look at Kara a little better before exhaling. “You’re amazing and you’re so beautiful and _hot _.__ God, you’re so hot and I don’t even think that you know that but you are. Really hot. And it feels __so__ good when you touch me, like insanely good. I’ve never felt those things before but I’m.. I’m a little frustrated.. You know.. Sexually.”

 

Kara opened her mouth to speak before Lena cut her off as she began to ramble.

 

“I didn’t want to say anything because I completely respect your boundaries and it would kill me if you thought that I was putting pressure on you. I love you Kara, so much and I’ll wait as long as you need me to. But you’re just.. You’re so unbelievably perfect in so many ways and it just.. __does__  things to me.” she let out a breath as she finished.

 

She hesitantly looked up into Kara’s eyes, the silence in the room was heavy and the longer it stretched out, the more she began to regret opening her mouth in the first place. Maybe she shouldn’t have said anything, it wasn’t Kara’s fault that Lena couldn’t control her urges.

 

She watched as deep blue eyes scanned over her face. Lena felt as though she was drowning for a second before the hand that Kara had on her thigh gripped her and pulled her the rest of the way over to fully straddle Kara’s lap. She let out a little squeak of surprise before Kara’s mouth was on hers, swallowing the rest of the noise. Before she could fully get into the kiss, Kara had pulled away and it took everything in Lena not to chase her lips with her own. She wanted Kara to know that she was in control of the situation, so she waited.

 

Next thing she knew, she was on her back with Kara hovering over her. Lips hungrily devouring her and Lena let herself get lost in the feeling. They had done this before, plenty of times, but it never lost it’s appeal. Kara tugged Lena’s bottom lip into her mouth and a moan escaped her as she felt Kara smirk against her lips. They stayed that way for a while, frantic kisses turning into slow, deep ones before quickly finding their way back to desperate. Lena clawed at Kara’s back, toying with the hem of her shirt before Kara broke the kiss and pulled her shirt up over her head. Once it had been tossed to the side, she reached for Lena’s and did the same thing.

 

A filthy, guttural moan escaped Kara’s lips when she realized Lena wasn’t wearing a bra, and it hit Lena like a bolt of lightening right between her legs. Kara wasted no time lowering her mouth down to latch onto Lena’s once more, only pulling away when she was certain Lena’s lungs were about to collapse from lack of oxygen. Instead, she trailed her mouth down, mapping a path along Lena’s sharp jawline and stopping briefly to suck and nibble on the part of her neck that she knew drove Lena insane, if the low chorus of moans now escaping her was any indication.

 

Lena felt like she was on fire, her pounding heartbeat had dropped to the apex of her thighs and she almost screamed when Kara’s warm mouth latched onto a straining pebbled pink nipple and began to gently suck on it the way she always did. Always gently, always amazing. Her hands shot up into Kara’s hair when she felt a tongue circle her, desperate to keep her in place.

 

“So.. Good.” she gasped, feeling Kara smile against her skin.

 

She switched breasts, the swipe of her tongue on the oversensitive untouched nipple made Lena groan deep in her throat and her hips involuntarily shot up as her back arched.

 

“Sorry, sorry.” she rushed out, not wanting Kara to think she was being too pushy.

 

Kara released her breast with a pop and look up into Lena’s face, ocean blue eyes drinking her in.

 

“Why are you sorry?” Kara panted, more than a little flushed herself.

 

“I didn’t mean to do that, I think we need to stop now.” she said regrettably, fighting to get her breathing under control.

 

“Actually.. I’ve been thinking.” Kara husked as she began to crawl back up Lena’s body, almost predatory in the way that she moved. The sweet, bumbling Kara from earlier was gone and Lena felt herself whimper. She lowered her mouth to Lena’s ear, bare breasts pressing into Kara’s chest as her warm breath ghosted Lena’s ear. “I seem to be okay with the whole keeping my strength in check when it comes to.. you know.. boobs.” she blurted out and Lena couldn’t suppress the laugh that escaped her. Who was she kidding, she’d always be the sweet, bumbling Kara.

 

Her laugh was cut short when Kara nipped slightly at her ear and she gasped.

 

“I was thinking that, what I do to your boobs isn’t too different from what I’d do to your.. you know..”

 

Shy Kara was slowly sneaking back in and Lena could sense she was struggling to get the words out so she offered up the answer for her.

 

“To my clit?”

 

Lena felt Kara bury her face in her neck, probably in an attempt to hide the blush that she knew often crept onto the blonde’s face when things like this were brought up.

 

“Kara, you don’t have to do anything, I swear. You really are the sweetest but I don’t want you doing anything that you don’t want to do, just because you feel like you should.”

 

“No!” Kara shot up immediately. “I want this. So so bad. I want to make you feel good, it’s like I can __feel__  it in my bones. The need to touch you.. _totasteyou._ ” she rushed in quietly at the end and Lena felt a hot rush of warm liquid pooling between her thighs.

 

Before she could reply, Kara’s mouth was on hers once again. Repeating exactly what she had done earlier, waiting until Lena was breathless before retracing the path that she had kissed from her jaw to her neck. Sloppily along her collarbone and down to her breasts but this time she didn’t stop there. Her mouth continued down, over Lena’s soft curvy stomach until she had run out of skin.

 

“Can I?” she asked breathlessly, toying with the button of Lena’s jeans.

 

“Oh god, __please.”__  she hadn’t meant to sound so needy but she couldn’t bring herself to care when she felt Kara pull down her zipper and toss them aside until she was left only in her underwear.

 

Determined lips slowly kissed their way up pale legs while Lena squirmed. Kara trailed wet kisses from her ankles, to her calves, stopping only to gently part Lena’s legs before she brought her mouth back down to her knees, and then her inner thighs. The soft keening noises from Lena was all that she needed to push past her own insecurities. Kara felt her breath leave her body when she noticed the wet patch soaking its way through the fabric of Lena’s underwear. _ _She had did that to her.__

__

“Is it okay if I..” Kara trailed off.”

 

“Only if you’re sure.” Lena panted, trying to relax when she felt Kara’s mouth on her. “Oh god.”

 

Kara dragged her bottom lip against the material of Lena’s sticky, matted-down underwear before placing a soft kiss on her center, visibly extending through the fabric. She was rewarded with another low moan from Lena. Kara desperately wanted to just tear the underwear off and bury her face into Lena but she knew that wasn’t how this could work, not yet at least, right now she had to relax and keep her strength in check. She slowly began to pull Lena’s underwear down, a lightning bolt of arousal shooting down to her own core when she noticed the material was stuck to Lena’s center.

 

Lena was acutely aware of just how wet she was, but she couldn’t bring herself to feel embarrassed, not when Kara was looking at her like she was a three course meal that she wanted to devour.

 

“Oh Rao babe, you’re all swollen.” Kara gasped as she took in the sight of Lena’s glistening center for the first time.

 

Lena let out a strangled “Mhfff” in reply. She needed to be touched, like, yesterday.

 

Her arm flew up and smacked the wall behind her when she finally felt Kara’s warm mouth on her for the first time. It was like the entire world fell away and as she explored her silky folds with her tongue. Lena tasted earth and musky and sweet and Kara felt drunk on it.

 

“I feel like I should warn you.. This is gonna be q.. quick.” Lena called out between gasps when Kara’s lips latched onto her clit and began to suck softly.

 

Her legs began to shake when Kara’s tongue started circling her. Lena felt as though she was being repeatedly torn to pieces and then stitched back together. She could feel the waves rapidly building and threatening to spill over as she broke out into a chorus of “ _ _please don’t stop, please, oh god right there, don’t stop__.”

 

Kara hummed against her, her way of assuring her she wasn’t going to stop, and that was all it took to tip Lena over the edge. Her orgasm hit her like a freight train, her vision went white and she wasn’t aware of anything but Kara, who guided her through it like a champion, not letting up until Lena’s whole body tensed and then collapsed onto the bed, chest heaving with one arm flung over her face.

 

Kara quickly climbed up to lay beside Lena, who buried her face into Kara’s neck and wrapped an arm around her waist while Kara stroked her hair and spoke quietly to Lena about how beautiful she was and how much she loved her as she came back down to earth. They lay in comfortable silence for a while.

 

“Hey, Lena?” Kara whispered softly.

 

“Hmm?”

 

“Was that.. Like, okay?”

 

Lena lifted her head from its resting place between the crook of Kara’s neck to look at her.

 

“Was that _ _okay__? Kara that was.. I didn’t know it could feel like that.. That was.. __Woah.”__  she praised, putting her head back down and kissing Kara’s shoulder.

 

“I don’t think I’m ready yet, for you to do it to me I mean. But that was way better than I imagined.”

 

“That’s completely fine, whatever you’re comfortable with, I’ll be right here eagerly waiting for the day you feel ready.” Lena smiled reassuringly.

 

She fell asleep not long after and Kara flipped the covers over her still naked body so that she wouldn’t get cold before hitting play on the movie that they had been watching earlier until she drifted off to sleep herself.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> excuse me while i go locate a bible


	11. Chapter 11

 

 

 

Lena woke up earlier than usual next day, she attributed it to the early night that she’d had the previous evening. The sun wasn’t quite up yet and she took a moment to just bask in the silence of the calm almost-morning. Memories of the night before swirled around in her head and she was extremely aware of the fact that she was still naked and tightly pressed up against Kara. She watched her sleep for a while, enjoying the warmth of them being wrapped up so closely before slowly sliding out of bed and heading to the shower.

 

They didn’t have to be at the exam hall for another few hours so Lena had a little time to cram some last minute studying in. She quickly showered and grabbed some clothes from her closet before putting her jeans and sweatshirt on in the living room so that Kara wouldn’t wake up earlier than necessary. She laughed at the socks that she had picked up in the dark room, just now noticing the reindeer and candy cane patterns scattered across them. They were Kara’s. She made a mental note to pick them both up an advent calendar later that day, even though they had missed the first few days already, she thought it would be fun and she was certain that Kara wouldn’t mind opening a few doors at once to catch up on the chocolates that she had missed.

 

Just as she settled down at the kitchen counter with a cup of steaming hot coffee and her notes, her phone began to buzz on the table beside her. It was barely even 6am, she didn’t recognize the number and couldn’t think of anyone that would be calling this early but she picked it up anyway.

  
”Hello, this is Lena.” she answered, voice a little lower than usual so that she wouldn’t disturb her still sleeping girlfriend.

 

“Lena, sweetie, hi! It’s Eliza!” the voice sounded happily down the line.

 

“Oh hi Eliza, how are you?” Lena beamed.

 

“I’m great honey, Kara gave me your number and I was just calling to wish you good luck with the exam today. I know you guys will nail it. I’ll give Kara a call later, I’m guessing she’s probably still asleep.”

 

“Yeah she is.” Lena laughed. “Thank you so much, Eliza.”

 

“You’re very welcome. I was also calling to invite you to spend Christmas with us, I’m not sure if you have prior commitments with your family or not but I just wanted you to know that there’s a seat for you here at our table and we would love nothing more than to have you again.”

 

Lena felt like crying as she listened to Eliza’s offer. She knew that it most likely wasn’t a big deal to her, she was simply being a decent human being, but it was a huge deal to Lena.

 

“I- Um.. I.. I’d love to.” she told Eliza, willing her voice to stay steady. “I’ll have to wait until I get more details about the Luthor Christmas ball but once I’ve sorted out the dates I’ll give you a call if that’s alright?”

 

“Of course dear, that’s perfect. I’ll let you get back to whatever you were doing, my guess is studying.” Eliza laughed on the other side of the phone.

 

“Good guess.” Lena smiled. “Thanks again, Eliza. Bye.”

 

“Bye, honey.”

 

Lena almost fell off the stool when she felt warm arms wrap firmly around her waist and Kara’s head nuzzling into her shoulder.

 

“Oh god you scared me!” she laughed, nudging an elbow playfully into Kara’s abdomen. “How are you feeling, about last night and everything?”

 

“Me? I’m great. Better than great. I think the question here is how are _you_ feeling?” Kara asked, planting a kiss on her cheek.

 

“Significantly less frustrated.” she hummed as Kara’s lips moved from her cheek down to her neck. “I love you.”

 

“I love you too.” Kara said before moving away to get a glass of water. “So, you’re going home during the holidays?”

 

“For the ball, yes.” she sighed, already feeling the dread bubble up inside of her at the thought.

 

“Can’t you just come straight to my moms with us?” Kara asked as she sipped at her water, rounding the island to sit next to Lena.

 

“I can’t. I have to be at the ball, I’m waiting on the email confirming the date and then we’ll sort everything else out.”

 

“I don’t like the thought of you being there after last time.” Kara told her with a sympathetic look.

 

“I’ll be fine babe, you’re new to this but I’m not. I’ve been dealing with it for a long time.” Lena laughed.

 

“That doesn’t make me feel any better.” she scoffed. “I don’t like it when you’re sad and I can’t be there to help.”

 

“The only thing I’ll be sad about is failing this exam. I need to look over these notes for a bit if you want to go shower?”

 

Kara recognized the dismissal of the conversation but she didn’t want to push Lena to talk about it if she didn’t want to, so after planting a kiss on the top of Lena’s head, she went off to shower.

 

* * *

 

They were given three hours to complete the exam in the examination hall. Lena finished in one and then spent a half an hour checking over her answers and making sure that she definitely hadn’t missed anything before closing her paper and quietly leaving the hall. She was one of the first people out and she went to sit in the cafeteria to wait until Kara and their friends were finished. Lucy was the next to emerge and she plopped down next to Lena before let out a relieved sigh.

 

“Thank god that’s over, I’m getting drunk tonight. Sara’s having an end of year thing before we all split for the holidays, you in?” she asked.

 

Lena didn’t have anything else planned for the evening and she knew Kara didn’t either so she agreed to go and they spent a little while engaging in conversation about which answer they had put for each question. The dining hall was warm, what with all the people now filing in so Lena decided to strip off her sweatshirt and sit in her t-shirt until they had to go out and brave the cold again. Lucy’s jaw dropped instantly when Lena peeled her sweater off, and before she could ask why, Lucy’s laugh was echoing loudly throughout the cafeteria.

 

“What? What is it?” Lena asked awkwardly, looking around to see what had caught Lucy’s attention.

 

“Your neck!” Lucy shouted.

 

“What about it?” she furrowed her brow.

 

Lena had no idea what was going on as Lucy began to pull things out of her purse until she found what she was looking for.

 

“I didn’t think Kara had it in her.” she continued to laugh before handing Lena a small compact mirror.

 

“Oh __shit__.” she muttered as she took in the variety of bruises covering her, all the way from her neck down to her collarbone. Some were bordering on blueish black whist others were an angry red color. “I’m going to kill her!” she said as she laughed alongside Lucy now, opting to deal with the heat of the room as she pulled her sweater back over her head to hide the marks.

 

James was next to arrive at the table, followed closely by Winn who each mirrored Lucy’s sigh of relief at finally being exam free. Lena self consciously toyed with the neck of her sweatshirt as everyone talked, praying that neither one of the boys would notice the marks underneath. Not that she was embarrassed or anything, she just liked the idea of keeping things private for now and she wasn’t sure if Kara would want everyone knowing the details of her sex life either.

 

A bell rang throughout the building, signaling the end of the exam and after James picked them each up a coffee from the canteen, they patiently waited for Kara to arrive. It didn’t take long for her to emerge from the crowd of people now piling into the hall, she was chatting away to a blonde girl that Lena had come to know as Sara, and although they had never spoken, she had heard all good things.

 

“Hey guys, my parents are gone for the weekend so everyone is invited back to my place tonight. I live pretty close by, I’ll text you all the address.” Sara said, stopping quickly at the table as Kara sat down beside Lena before walking off to find her own friends. She was sent off with a chorus of “thank you” and “see you tonight” from the group.

 

It was early afternoon when they all packed up their stuff and headed back to their dorms. Lena walked hand in hand with Kara across the campus as they spoke about the exam and traded the answers that they had gotten for each question seeing as Kara missed the conversation earlier. From what they could remember of it, they each seemed to have very similar answers which was always a good sign.

 

“So do you think you passed?” Kara asked as she swung their joint hands together between them as they walked.

 

“Uh of course I passed who do you think I am?” Lena only half teased. “Do you think that you did?”

 

“That’s my girl.” Kara laughed. “I mean, I hope so. We don’t have to worry about it until next year anyway, thank Rao.” she finished and tried to suppress a yawn.

 

“Tired?” Lena raised her eyebrows and smiled.

 

“We weren’t _all_  asleep before nine yesterday.” Kara smirked as Lena blushed.

 

“Oh! About that!” Lena half shouted, grabbing the neckline of her sweatshirt as she stopped walking, pulling it down just enough to uncover the _ _artwork__  that Kara had left on her the night before. “Look at me!” she squeaked.

 

A hand shot up over Kara’s mouth as she tried to refrain from laughing.

 

“It’s not funny you ass! I didn’t even notice it until Lucy pointed it out!” she playfully pushed Kara backwards and Kara let her laughter escape whilst Lena pouted.

 

“I’m sorry! Oh my god Lena!” She continued to laugh as she took her hand back in her own and they resumed walking.

 

Lena’s ringtone sounded loudly over Kara’s laughter a few moments later and she pulled her phone out of her pocking, hesitating slightly as she looked down at the screen before sliding the little green call button across to answer it.

 

“Hello mother.” She said coldly, grip tightening on Kara’s hand to the point where it was almost bordering on painful.

 

Kara was taken aback at the sudden shift in her girlfriend. She knew Lena’s mother wasn’t exactly the most maternal of people but she had never seen Lena tense up so quickly and it was almost frightening.

 

“I hardly think that will be necessary.” Lena spoke down the phone, replying to whatever her mother had said.

 

It took everything in Kara to not tap into her super hearing and listen in, but she knew Lena deserved privacy and she wanted to be respectful. Plus, if she wants Kara to know what’s being said then she’ll tell her afterwards.

 

They arrived at Lena’s apartment when she was still on the phone. Kara stepped ahead to open the door whilst Lena mouthed a “Thank you” and they began to climb the stairs just in case the elevator cut off Lena’s phone signal mid conversation.

 

“No, mother I really don’t think it will be necessary. Why not? Because it’s bad enough that __I__ have to suffer through it, why would I want- No you’re listening to me, I said no.”

 

Kara squeezed Lena’s hand a little tighter, a gentle reminder that she was there and she saw Lena’s shoulders relax a little.

 

“I will be there, _alone _,__  on the 20th to attend the ball and I intend to leave the morning after.” She said sternly. “Goodbye, mother.”

 

Kara unlocked the door and they walked inside as Lena hung up the phone.

 

Kara was startled by the sob that escaped Lena the second the door was closed and she rushed over, hands hovering around her. She wasn’t sure whether or not to pull her into a hug, or if she should even touch her at all.

 

“Lena, what do you need?” She asked, voice filled with concern and her hands still frozen in mid air on either side of Lena’s arms.

 

Lena tried to quickly wipe away the tears with the back of her hand but they just kept coming.

 

“I’m sorry.” she laughed humorlessly.

 

“Please don’t ever apologize for getting upset Lena, you know I’m here for whatever you need.” Kara told her, blue eyes laced with concern.

 

The tears started streaking down Lena’s cheeks once more as another sob escaped her lips and Kara reached for her this time, pulling her into a hug. She held onto her waist tightly with one arm whilst the other moved up to hold her head closely to her chest.

 

“Oh babe, you’re alright, you’re fine, it’s fine.” she whispered into Lena’s hair. “I love you, you’re okay.”

 

They stayed like that for a while, standing in front of the door in Lena’s apartment before Kara slowly turned them around and lead them through the apartment and into Lena’s bedroom.

 

She wordlessly guided Lena down onto the bed and then tucked up behind her, arm wrapping securely around her waist as she nuzzled her head into Lena’s neck. Kara had no idea what her mother could have possibly said to garner this reaction from her, but she felt her heart break for Lena. It took a few more minutes before Lena stopped crying and shifted on the bed to turn and look at Kara.

 

“God, I’m sorry.” she sniffed. “I’m such a mess.”

 

“You’re not a mess, you look cute.” Kara smiled, tucking a stray piece of raven hair behind her ear before kissing her forehead.

 

“I can tell when someone is lying to me.” Lena half laughed as she wiped at her eyes.

 

“Well then you should be able to tell that I’m not lying to you right now.”

 

Lena nuzzled deeper into Kara’s chest, pulling the heel out of each of her sneakers before kicking them off the bed and pulling her legs up to tangle with Kara’s.

 

“My father passed away around this time a few years ago.” She began to talk and Kara drew gentle patterns on her arm in an attempt to comfort her. “We hold the ball each year in his memory. The money raised goes towards cancer research. It’s just hard this time of year, you know? It’s like all my mother cares about is our reputation and how we look to the outside world, I doubt my father even crosses her mind. She forgets why we’re even doing it in the first place. And I just, god I _miss him _.”__ She let out a shaky exhale and Kara pulled her impossibly closer. “Lex has always been her favorite but it was okay because I was my father’s, but after he died it was like she hated me even more. I felt like she somehow blamed me for his getting sick and things have been that way ever since. I feel bad getting upset over it because I __know__ some people have it way worse than I do. “The poor little billionaire kid doesn’t get along with mommy boo hoo.” Lena mocked self-deprecatingly.

 

“Don’t. Don’t say that.” Kara cut in. “Just because some people may have things worse than others doesn’t mean that their pain isn’t still just as valid. You’ve been through a lot Lena, and you’re still so young and yet you handle yourself with such grace and maturity. I don’t know how you do it sometimes honestly but I do know that you’re strong as hell and I really hope that you know how much I admire that about you.”

 

And just like that, Lena was crying again, not so much out of sadness but more out of gratefulness for Kara.

 

“She told me to bring you.” Lena spoke into Kara’s now tear-stained shirt. “That’s why she was calling. I didn’t tell her about you but I’m guessing she knows I didn’t come back here for Thanksgiving.”

 

“I know you didn’t sound too keen on me going when you were talking to her on the phone, but if you change your mind and want me to be there, I’m there.” Kara told her. “Just say the word. We can go to Eliza’s for the holidays and just fly to your moms for the ball. We don’t even have to stay the night if you don’t want to.”

 

“I’ll think about it.” Lena whispered before a yawn escaped her mouth. “Thank you.”

 

“Anytime.” Kara whispered, pulling a stray blanket from the bottom of the bed and using it to cover them both.

 

She only slept for an hour or so but Lena felt significantly better for it. They decided to blow off the party and spent the day cuddled up on the couch watching movies ranging from cartoon musicals of Kara’s choosing to spooky thrillers of Lena’s choosing before ordering takeout for dinner and then heading back to bed for the night.

 

 

 


	12. Chapter 12

 

 

Lena removed the keys from the ignition before taking a deep breath and attempting to give herself a pep talk. She rested her forehead on the steering wheel of her car as she fought back and forth with herself. Was she really about to do this? Yes she was. But was it a good idea? She didn’t know, there could be a few possible outcomes.

__

“Hey, kid, you good?” Maggie called through the car window after knocking on it and startling Lena out of her thoughts.

 

She was parked outside of Alex and Maggie’s apartment building. They were already aware of the fact that she was coming but they had no idea why and now that Maggie had seen her, she had no way of sneaking off if she changed her mind.

 

“I- Yeah I’m good.” Lena called back, unbuckling her seat belt before gathering her bearings and opening the door.

 

Maggie had a few bags of groceries in each hand so Lena offered to take some while they walked towards their building.

 

“So, what brings Little Luthor here without Little Danvers? Oh god you’re not here to ask for our blessing or anything are you? I love you guys, truly I do, but you’re way too young to get married.” Maggie teased.

 

“Can we maybe just wait until we’re inside?” Lena muttered, the joke flying right over her head.

 

This seemed to get Maggie’s attention, it was unlike Lena to pass up an opportunity to tease her.

 

“Sure, kid.” she replied as they climbed the few final stairs to their place. “Alex should be on her way home now, she’ll be here soon.”

 

Lena was gnawing nervously on her bottom lip as they entered the apartment, she helped Maggie put the groceries away mostly in silence before they headed over to sit on the couch, each with a cup of coffee in hand that Maggie had made them. Not long after, they heard Alex’s key in the lock and after a few seconds, her face came into view.

 

“Hey babe, oh hey Lena I forgot you were coming today.” She smiled, depositing her keys on the counter before giving Maggie a quick kiss.

 

“Little miss Luthor has been sitting here for the past half an hour chewing on her bottom lip like it’s the last thing she’ll ever eat.” Maggie told Alex, tone slightly teasing, but with a hint of concern.

 

“Is everything okay?” Alex asked Lena, sitting down beside her on the opposite side from Maggie.

 

Lena laughed nervously as she set her cup down on the coffee table. She couldn’t believe she was really here about to do this, but she knew the reward would be beyond worth it so she sucked in a breath and decided to just get it over with.

 

“Oh god this is.. the most humiliating thing I’ve ever done in my entire life.” she began.

 

“Well spit it out then, we don’t have all day!” Maggie nudged her.

 

“Maggie.. Give her a second.” Alex said, a little bit more compassionately before they sat in silence for a moment. “Okay seconds up. Spit it out.”

 

“Okay so.. You know how Kara has powers here on earth?” Lena asked hesitantly.

 

“Wait.. she has what?!” Maggie exclaimed dramatically, clutching her chest.

 

“You’re an ass.” Lena said as she flipped her off before continuing. “Well she’s always very good at keeping her powers in check, except for when..” she paused.

  
”Go on.” Alex encouraged.

 

“She doesn’t trust herself tonot lose control when we.. When she.. _You know_.”

 

It took a second for what she was saying to sink in, but when it did, Alex dramatically shot up from the couch with her hands covering her ears whilst Maggie screamed and stamped her feet on the floor repeatedly.

 

“I told you Alex! You owe me ten bucks!” she laughed.

 

“Wait you were _betting_ on us?” Lena scoffed, burying her face in her hands.

 

“This is so gross I don’t wanna think about you two doing.. _that _.__ ” Alex whined.

 

“Oh come on babe, it’s not like it’s nothing we haven’t done.” Maggie teased with a wink.

 

This time it was Lena who shot up from the couch. Alex was still pacing back and forth but Lena stayed where she was.

 

“Maybe this was a bad idea, I should just go. I’ll figure something out on my own.” She rushed before she made to grab her keys and leave but Alex stopped her before she could do it.

 

“No. No it’s fine. We kinda guessed one of you would come to us with this. My money was on Kara, in like three years time. But Maggie said it would be you and a lot sooner.”

 

Maggie didn’t say anything, she just sat on the couch and sipped her coffee with a smug grin plastered on her face.

 

“I don’t need anything weird from you guys or anything, I was just hoping you could give me as much information as you can. I have a few ideas up my sleeve but I needed a little help. I’m sorry if this was too much.” Lena told them.

 

“No it’s not, come on, sit down.” Alex gestured to the couch before disappearing to her bedroom and reemerging with a few files.

 

They spend the rest of the afternoon discussing what Lena needed and what her plans were. The sun was beginning to go down when she realized she should probably head back before Kara noticed she was gone. She didn’t want to ruin the surprise.

 

“Thank you guys. Seriously, I know this was awkward but I really appreciate it.” she thanked them as she headed towards the door.

 

“No problem, kid.” Maggie smiled, ruffling her hair playfully before Lena swiped her wrist away and they engaged in a very serious arm wrestle for a second.

 

“Okay enough you two.” Alex cut in. “You’re welcome Lena but let’s maybe not mention this again?” her eyes pleaded.

 

“I’m totally on board with that.” she agreed.

 

“Oh and are you coming to my moms for Christmas? We’d love to have you.” Alex asked.

 

“I have a few things to sort out first but yeah I think so. Thank you.” she smiled. “See you guys later.”

 

“See ya!”

 

“Bye!”

 

* * *

 

Lena stopped at the store on her drive home to pick up two advent calendars, one for her and one for Kara. She avoided buying anything for dinner, wanting to take Kara out to celebrate them being done with school for the year since they didn’t do anything the day before.

****

_Lena: Are you free for dinner tonight? I wanna take you out Xx_

****

She sent the text off to Kara before putting her phone away and driving the rest of the way back to her place.

__

_Kara: I’m always free for you. You don’t have to take me out though. Xx_

****

Once she had safely parked the car, Lena called Kara instead of texting back.

 

“Hey, I just got home. You wanna come over now?”

 

“I’m helping Luce pack up her stuff first so I’ll be there in a bit, she’s leaving tonight-”

 

“Kara go be with your sickeningly adorable girlfriend! I’ve got it from here!” Lena heard Lucy yell from the background.

 

“Are you sure?”

 

“Yes I’m sure now go, but maybe ease up on the neck thing since you’re going to your mom’s soon.”

 

“I guess I’ll be there soon then.” Kara laughed and Lena could picture the blush that was probably creeping up her face.

  
”Okay, I’m gonna take a quick shower so just let yourself in. Oh, and I bought us advent calendars. I thought it’d be fun.”

  
”You’re such a dork.” Kara teased. “Okay I’ll see you in a bit.”

 

Lena set the bag from the store down on the counter and took the advent calendars out so that Kara wouldn’t miss them when she came in. She spent a few minutes tidying up a little before grabbing a towel from her bedroom closet and heading into the bathroom. She had just stepped under the stream of hot water when she heard Kara call her name.  

 

“Lena? I’m here!”

 

“I’m in the shower!” She called back. “I won’t be long.”

 

Lena quickly washed herself and rinsed the soap away before stepping out and wrapping herself in a fluffy white towel. She deposited her clothes into the laundry basket on her way out, shivering slightly at the cool air of her apartment on her exposed wet skin. Before she reached her bedroom, Kara had crept up behind her and pulled Lena’s body flush against her own, back pressing into her front.

 

“A Frozen advent calendar? Really Lena?” She husked in her ear and Lena felt a shiver go down her spine.

 

“I thought it would be funny.” she whimpered as Kara’s lips ghosted her neck.

 

“I’m not laughing.”

 

Lena was taken aback at the roughness of Kara’s voice, she could feel a familiar heat pooling in her stomach and her skin felt flush all over.

 

Kara turned her around and reached up to cup Lena’s face before slowly joining their lips together. It was careful and calculated and Lena was cursing herself for already being so desperate for more. She experimentally licking along Kara’s bottom lip and they parted immediately , but Kara still held all of the control. She refused to pick up speed despite Lena’s attempts. She kissed her slowly, tongue thoroughly exploring a whimpering Lena’s mouth.

 

“Kara we have.. We have a reservation in.. an hour.” she gasped out between kisses.

 

It was around a twenty minute drive to the restaurant and Lena knew that Kara knew this, so she had expected her to stop to allow her to get ready but before she had realized what was happening, Kara had gripped a hand onto the back of each of her bare thighs, still wrapped in her towel and lifted her up. Lena’s squeak of surprise was swallowed by Kara mouth who allowed her to finally pick up the pace of the kiss as she walked them both towards the bedroom.

 

“That’s plenty of time.” Kara spoke against her lips.

 

Kara’s show of strength was always a turn on to Lena but she had rarely seen this more dominant side of her personality and it was hitting her right between the legs. She had suspected it sometimes when they made out, but the reality was far beyond what she could’ve ever imagined. She was quickly deposited onto the bed and Kara immediately began crawling up the length of her body.

 

“Don’t mark me again.” She warned half halfheartedly as Kara began to move her lips down.

 

She toyed with the top of her towel, still wrapped firmly around Lena’s torso before looking up at her softly.

 

“Can I?” she asked quietly. God, Kara asking for her consent was hot.

 

“Of course.” Lena smiled, blushing slightly when Kara unwrapped the towel from her body and tossed it aside.

 

“You’re so beautiful.” Kara whispered reverently against her skin, kissing over the valley of her breasts before sucking one into her mouth.

 

Lena was vaguely aware of the fact that Kara was still fully dressed whilst she straddled a completely naked Lena but she also knew they wouldn’t have enough time if she stopped to strip Kara too.

 

Her hips arched upwards into Kara as she continued to suck at her breasts. She could feel the urgent pounding between her legs demanding attention.

 

“Kara.. Please..” she called out.

 

“Tell me what you want.”

 

Kara had intended for it to sound demanding and sexy but it had come out as more than a little insecure. She was still new to this and she wanted to do it right for Lena’s sake. Lena seemed to pick up on this and grasped Kara’s hand, gently guiding it down where she needed it to be.

 

“Touch me.” Lena panted, letting go of Kara’s hand and letting it explore on it’s own.

 

Kara closed her eyes as she rested her head on Lena’s chest. She pictured her own folds as she explored Lena’s, and attempted to replicate what felt good on herself. It was easier than she thought, Lena’s soft moans encouraged her and as her confidence grew, so did the pleasure Lena was receiving.

 

Kara alternated different patterns, speeds and pressure on her bundle of nerves until she could feel Lena all but vibrating below her. It gave her an idea, although she was hesitant at first. When she was sure Lena was close, she sped up her fingers a little at a time, constantly checking in with herself to make sure she was keeping her strength in check, until her fingers were just straight up vibrating onto Lena’s most intimate area.

 

Lena hadn’t been expecting the sudden change and she screamed loudly as she came. Kara began to slow and then stop as Lena fought to regain her breath.

 

“Holy… __shit.”__ she breathed out as her chest heaved.

 

They lay still for a few moments until Lena felt stable enough to sit up.

 

“Kara, are you sure I can’t return the favour?” she asked, running a hand along Kara’s arm.

 

“I can’t, Rao.. I _want_ to but I can’t risk hurting you.”

 

“I trust you, Kara.” Lena told her sincerely.

 

“Yeah but I don’t trust myself.” She said, sounding more than a little frustrated.

 

“We don’t have to keep doing this, you know. I feel like it’s unfair to you if I’m the one constantly receiving.” Lena said softly.

 

“Oh god no Lena, I __love__  this. If you want to stop then of course we’ll stop but I really __really__ don’t want to.” she assured her.

 

After a few moments of laying there, Kara helped Lena get dressed. Her legs still felt a little shaky, so she gave Kara the keys to her car and let her drive as they rushed to make their reservation at the restaurant Lena had picked out for the night.

 

 

* * *

 

“So I sorted all the dates and everything out.” Lena told her as Kara tucked into her slice of chocolate cake at the restaurant.

 

“Oh?”

 

“Yeah, I’m gonna go to your mom’s with you this week and then I’ll fly to metropolis on the day of the ball. I’ll probably spend the night this time because it tends to run a little on the late side, and then I’ll fly back to your mom’s the day after.”

 

“Have you thought any more about me maybe coming with you?” Kara asked after she had swallowed her mouthful of ice cream.

 

“Yes. But not the coming that you have in mind.” she teased, laughing as Kara choked and spluttered. “I’d really rather keep you away from all of that, for your own sake, but if you want to come then you’re more than welcome.”

 

“I’ll be there!” Kara called out immediately with a mouthful of ice cream.

 

“God, you’re such a dork.”

 

“Yeah but you love it.”

 

“I do.”

 

 


	13. Chapter 13

 

 

Kara and Lena had been at Eliza’s house for a few hours already, after having arrived in the early hours of the morning. Eliza was working the next day and after much persuasion from the girls and a reminder that they would be there for the next three weeks, Eliza let them take a cab from the airport so that she could sleep and be rested for work. They snuck in as quietly as they could and headed straight up the stairs and into Kara’s bed to catch up on the sleep they had missed out on due to the flight being so late. Alex and Maggie weren’t coming for another two weeks, both of them had been required to work and they’d each taken a week off so that they could be with Eliza and the girls for Christmas and New Years.

 

Lena woke to an empty bed and the smell of bacon wafting up the stairs and into Kara’s bedroom. It didn’t take a genius to figure out where her girlfriend had disappeared to. She slid out of bed and pulled her favourite oversized hoodie over her the thin material of the vest that she had slept in to fight off the early morning December chill, along with a pair of fuzzy socks that tucked her flannel pyjama bottoms into, feeling a lot more cozy than she had a few seconds ago, before heading downstairs. Kara was already sitting at the table tucking into a mountain of breakfast foods when she entered the kitchen.

 

“Oh Lena sweetie it’s so good to see you again!” Eliza exclaimed, putting her spatula down and leaving her post at the frying pan to go give her a hug. “Did you sleep well? Sorry about the chill, it takes a little while for the house to heat up in the morning.” She ran a hand up and down Lena’s back enthusiastically before squeezing her once more and then letting her go.

 

“Not at all it’s totally fine. It’s great to see you too, thanks again for having me. I really appreciate it.” Lena smiled as she sat down next to Kara, shooting her an amused look at how much food was on her plate.

 

“Kara and I were just talking about my lack of Christmas decor.” Eliza informed her as she flipped the bacon in the pan. “I’ve just been so busy with work I haven’t had the chance to put anything up. I was hoping you girls might want to help me out today whilst I’m gone?”

 

Kara’s mouth was still too full for her to form a coherent sentence so she just hummed along eagerly in agreement.

 

“I’m not sure I’m the best person for the job.” Lena let out a breathy laugh. “I’ve never decorated a tree or anything like that before.”

 

A loud clanging noise echoed throughout the kitchen as Kara started spluttering beside her.

 

“Sweetie are you alright?” Eliza rushed over, offering her a glass of water and picking up the fork that she had dropped onto the floor.

 

“You’ve _never_  decorated a tree?!” Kara exclaimed in horror once she had stopped choking on her food.

 

“Well, no. The staff always handled the decorations and what not. Mother didn’t trust us with things like that.”

 

Eliza listened with a warm, sympathetic look on her face as Lena spoke and Kara tried her best to keep her gasps of horror at bay.

 

“We’re gonna end your tree-less streak right now!” she all but shouted as Lena and Eliza laughed.

 

“If you girls are alright with dropping me off at work today then you can take my car and go pick out a tree.” Eliza sat down beside them with her own plate. “The decorations are where they always are, do whatever you please with them.”

 

“That would be amazing, thank you Eliza.” Lena spoke on behalf of both her and Kara, who’s mouth was full once again.

 

* * *

 

Once they had helped Eliza wash up the dishes and tidy everything away from breakfast, they each got dressed and headed back down stairs where the eldest Danvers woman was waiting for them, coats in hand.

 

“You girls ready?” she passed them each a jacket before grabbing them each a pair of gloves and a hat too.

 

“Mooom.” Kara fussed as Eliza wrestled a hat onto her head and Lena watched them both with a smile plastered on her face.

 

She didn’t think that she would ever get used to the way Eliza was with her daughters. It amazed her every single time that someone could really be so genuinely kind and caring without an ulterior motive, although she guessed that’s what all normal mothers were like. Lena was still laughing at Kara when Eliza surprised her and put a hat on her own head.

 

“It’s freezing out there today girls, and I hear it’s forecast to snow tonight so I’d hurry and pick a tree if I were you. I can’t have you two freezing out there.” She told them as she straightened up Lena’s hat.

 

Eliza drove both Kara and Lena to her work before saying goodbye to each of them and letting them know just how excited she was to see the finished product of their tree decorating. Once Eliza had gone, Kara moved into the driver’s seat and Lena clambered over into the front passenger’s seat before they took off towards the tree lot.

 

“I’ve never done anything like this before, I’m excited.” Lena watched as Kara slipped a CD into the CD player and Christmas music started blasting throughout the car.

 

“This is gonna be the most exciting day of your life!” she squealed back enthusiastically, reaching a hand over to hold Lena’s as she drove.

 

The tree lot wasn’t too far away and they arrived after around five songs, all of which Kara dramatically sang along to whilst Lena watched on in amusement.

 

“Ah ah ah!” Kara shouted as Lena reached for the door handle to let herself out of the car. “You forgot your gloves.”

 

Lena shot her a “ _ _really, Kara?”__ look but Kara simply held out the gloves that Eliza had given them earlier, not dropping her gaze until Lena took them and put them on.

 

“Happy now?”

 

“Yup.” Kara popped the P with a smirk and Lena simply rolled her eyes before they both got out of the car.

 

It took an hour before they finally settled on a tree. Kara was very insistent on checking out every single one of the potential candidates in excruciating detail and Lena was very thankful for the gloves that she was currently wearing as the cold began to seep in, not that she was complaining, she was having a blast, she loved experiencing new things and when Kara was alongside her for whatever it was, it made it all the more better. They laughed and joked as they made their way back to the car, tugging the tree along behind them.

 

After a quick glance around them to make sure that no one would pay too much attention to her show of strength, Kara hoisted the tree up and onto the roof of the car. They made sure it was secured in place before heading back home, but not before round two of Kara’s Christmas karaoke.

 

Lena knew her assistance wasn’t really required for getting the tree inside but she helped Kara carry it in anyway. They took it straight to the garage and propped it up in there before heading back into the house to clean up a little. They hung their coats up on the hook and wasted no time getting started.

 

“Hey, babe would you mind getting the vacuum while I sort this out please? It’s in the closet in the hall.” Kara was already midway through rearranging the furniture to make room for the tree.

 

“Of course.” Lena smiled as she happily headed out into the hallway.

 

Once she’d returned, she located an outlet and plugged it in, vacuuming the areas that Kara had already finished with. They moved in perfect sync with one another, Kara pulled out the mop after Lena was done and cleaned the last parts of the floor before they headed back to the garage to get the tree. Lena held the doors open while Kara dragged it inside and got it set up.

 

“Okay, where are the decorations?” Lena asked excitedly, clapping her hands together when Kara stepped back to make sure everything looked okay with the tree.

 

“Easy there buddy we gotta wait until the branches fall into place, it usually takes a few hours.” Kara stepped in behind her, wrapping her arms securely around her waist before kissing her neck softly.

 

“Oh.. However will we pass the time?” Lena asked suggestively, leaning back into her as Kara continued to brush her lips against her neck.

 

Before she knew what had happened, Kara’s arms were gone from around her and she was standing alone in the living room.

 

“We’ll bake gingerbread cookies!” she heard her call from the kitchen.

 

“I hate you!” Lena muttered playfully to herself as she made her way to where Kara was now pulling a bag of flour out of the cabinet.

 

“I heard that.”

 

“I know you did.” she smirked.

 

A half an hour later, the cookies lay spread out on a large baking tray, cut into a variety of fun shapes. The little men were Lena’s favourite. Kara preferred the hearts.

 

“Okay, is the timer ready?” Kara picked up the tray and set it gently in the oven, looking over to Lena for confirmation before closing the door.

 

“Yup. 25 minutes.”

 

They spent the time waiting for the cookies to bake cleaning up the mess that they had made of the kitchen. Lena washed and dried the bowls and cookie cutters while Kara cleared up the mess of flour and batter now covering the counter tops. The timer sounded loudly as they were finishing up and Lena skipped excitedly over to the oven.

 

Kara watched her from her post at the sink, feeling her heart swell with joy at the sight. Christmas was always her favorite time of the year but experiencing it with Lena, knowing that she was giving her all of these firsts, was the best feeling in the world. She couldn’t remember a time Lena looked so genuinely carefree and happy.

 

“What?” Lena raised her brow when she noticed Kara was staring.

 

“Nothing, it’s just..I love you.” Kara said before setting the dishtowel down and walking over to join Lena at the over.

 

“I love you too, you big softie.” she playfully nudged her.

 

Lena gasped slightly when Kara reached in and grabbed the tray from the oven with her bare hands before remembering that it couldn’t burn her Kryptonian skin.

 

“Mm, they smell so good!” she exclaimed.

 

“They taste even better, just wait.” Kara said as she set them down on the rack to cool before they could decorate them. “I’m gonna go grab the decorations from the attic, you wanna give me hand?”

 

“Of course, lead the way.”

 

A few hours later, the cookies were iced and decorated, along with the tree and the rest of the house. Lena was sitting on Kara’s lap on the newly moved couch in the living room, tucking into a gingerbread cookie as they admired their handy work.

 

“It looks like Christmas threw up in here.” Lena joked as she reached over to the coffee table to grab another cookie, Kara’s grip tightened firmly on her waist to make sure she wouldn’t fall off her lap. “This was so much fun, thank you.” Lena swallowed her bite of cookie before hooking an arm around her shoulders and kissing Kara sloppily on the cheek.

 

“It really was, thank _you_  for agreeing to come.” Kara turned her head to place a quick kiss on her lips before giggling and moving back. “You taste like gingerbread.”

 

She went in for another kiss before Lena jerked away.

 

“Hey look! It’s snowing!” she exclaimed excitedly, gesturing to the soft gentle flakes floating down from the sky outside and Kara wrapped her arms around her a little tighter, wanting her just that little bit closer.

 

They sat in the newly decorated living room for a while, the sun slowly set as the room plunged into darkness, the snow was falling heavily now, piling up slowly on the window ledge outside. The lights from the tree and the fairy lights hanging from every surface basked them in a warm golden glow as they talked and ate the cookies that they’d made before Kara offered to put on a movie for them.

 

“Okay we __have__ to watch Elf. It’s Christmas law.” she said seriously and Lena went along with it, she had never seen the movie but Kara seemed to know what she was talking about when it came to Christmas so she let her take the reigns.

 

Eliza got a ride home from work after her shift, and when she entered the house later that night she was met with the sight of her daughter and Lena wrapped up in one another, snoring softly on the couch as the credits rolled on whichever movie they had been watching.

 

* * *

 

Lena fidgeted nervously in her seat. She had spent the last week at Eliza’s doing absolutely nothing but relaxing with Kara, and Eliza when she was home from work. They had caught up on all the typical kids Christmas movies that Lena hadn’t realized she had been missing out on and just enjoyed not having any responsibilities looming over them. But now Lena was seated a plane, just before takeoff, ready to head back to her mother’s and she had never been dreading it more. A warm hand covered both of hers on her lap, stilling her movements as she looked up at Kara.

 

“It’ll be okay babe, you’ve got me this time.” Kara reassured her with a soft smile.

 

“That’s what I’m worried about.” Lena confessed. “I can take her shitting on me but I don’t want you to have to deal with all of this. You don’t deserve it.”

 

“And you think you do?” Kara asked softly, sliding her hand between Lena’s to lace their fingers together. “You don’t deserve the stuff you have to deal with, you didn’t do anything wrong. We’re in this together, I’ve got you.” she assured Lena. Although she would be lying if she said her stomach wasn’t in knots about meeting Lena’s mother for the first time.

 

Lena rested her head on Kara’s shoulder, taking out her earphones and handing one to her before switching her music on. They stayed like that for the majority of the flight, alternating between choosing songs and taking comfort in the presence of one another. They only broke apart to pull out the snacks that Eliza had packed for them before they left. Lena smiled at the note inside the pack before handing it to Kara.

 

_I love you guys. I hope you have a blast and I’ll see you tomorrow._

_\- Eliza Xx_

 

When the plane landed, Lena assumed their driver would be picking them up. She hadn’t spoken to her mother or Lex since Thanksgiving, not that he hadn’t tried to call a few times but she had never picked up and he didn’t leave any messages.

 

They were only staying for the one night so neither one of them had brought a case, instead they each had a carry on with a change of clothes and a toothbrush inside. They headed through the airport together hand in hand after collecting their bags, coming to the exit where Lena spotted the familiar black car and her driver standing outside of it.

 

“Miss Luthor, it’s lovely to see you again.” he greeted her with a smile.

 

“Likewise Arthur, this is my girlfriend, Kara.” she smiled as she gestured to the excited blonde.

 

“It’s great to meet you, Arthur!” Kara eagerly extended a hand out to him which he shook without hesitation.

 

They clambered into the back of the car and Lena began wringing her fingers together again before Kara stopped her.

 

“It’ll be fine, I promise.” Kara told her, nuzzling in to place soft kisses on the side of her neck. She smiled against her skin when she felt Lena visibly relax under her touch.

 

“I know it’s just.. you can’t leave me if this goes the way I’m predicting.” she half joked.

 

“Hmm.. well we’ll see how good the food is before I make that call.” Kara joked back before pulling away to look into her eyes. “You can’t get rid of me that easily, don’t worry.”

 

Lillian wasn’t home when the car finally pulled up outside the house and Lena could tell it was taking everything in Kara to not freak out about how large the estate was. She figured her mother was probably at the venue bossing the staff around, god forbid anything be even an inch out of place.

 

Kara was trying her best to stay calm when they entered the house and she was met with the two large marble staircases that curved into a circle on either side of the room, each leading up to the second floor of the house and she barely contained her gasp.

 

Not wanting to risk getting in the way of any of the staff running wild on the ground floor of the house, Lena grabbed their bags and lead Kara straight upstairs and down to the end of the large hallway where they climbed another set of slightly more casual stairs before reaching the third floor and heading into her bedroom.

 

“Okay. You can let it out now.” she laughed as she closed and locked the door behind them, dumping the two bags onto her bed as she walked further into her room.

 

It was nothing like Kara’s, no photos or posters decorated her walls. She didn’t have an array of stuffed animals laying in odd places and it certainly didn’t have the burst of warmth that Kara’s did. Lena’s room was modern, all sleek blacks and white. All signs of someone living there had been taken with her to college, her bookshelf stood empty against the wall, her DVDs and CDs were all in her national city apartment along with her clothes.

 

Kara let out a breath before she began rambling like a maniac.

 

“Holy Rao Lena! This place is.. I mean.. It’s _insane _!”__ shemarveled, gesturing wildly. “You could fit like twenty of my house in here!”

 

“Yes but I much rather prefer your house.” Lena smiled as she flopped down onto the large queen sized bed, closely followed by Kara. “It’s a home. And it’s lot more welcoming than this place.” she breathed a laugh.

 

“Well I’m more than happy to be wherever you are.” Kara snuggled into her side.

 

“Dork.” she muttered, pulling Kara closer.

 

They lay there for a few moments, legs dangling over the bottom of the bed before Lena sat up, tapping a hand on Kara’s thigh so that she’d get the hint and sit up too.

 

“Hair and makeup will be here in like a half an hour, you wanna do something before we have to go shower?” Lena asked casually as she turned to face Kara.

 

“Like what?” Kara asked , completely caught off guard when Lena threw herself on top of her, pinning her to the bed in the same position that she had just been laying in.

 

“Me.”

 

Kara began to stutter profusely, and Lena sat up, still straddling her waist as she looked down at her.

 

“We don’t have to, but if you wanna, the staff don’t use this floor and I locked the door.” she said as she gently raked the pads of her fingers over Kara’s abs, on top of the soft material of her shirt. She smirked when she felt Kara’s muscles ripple beneath her touch and leaned back down to her ear. “We just have to be fast is all.” she whispered, feeling Kara squirm beneath her as her warm breath hit her ear.

 

Lena blinked and suddenly the zipper of her jeans was wide open and Kara’s hand was inside of them, cupping her over her underwear.

 

A quiet whimper escaped her lips as Kara whispered back. “Oh, I can do fast alright.” she pulled Lena’s head the rest of the way down to meet her lips, not yet moving her hand.

 

She cupped Lena firmly but it wasn’t enough for her to actually get anything from it, and soon enough, Lena was grinding desperately down onto her hand, seeking a better angle as their tongues fought for dominance. Kara could feel the heat coming from Lena in pulses and she longed to feel it against her bare skin but the sheer joy she got from teasing Lena was enough to keep her at bay for now.

 

“Kara, _please _.”__ she breathed desperately against her lips after a while of relentless teasing, canting her hips down into Kara’s once more.

 

She almost groaned in protest when she felt Kara’s hand release her and move up and out of her jeans but it caught in her throat when her hand slipped back down, beneath the elastic waistband of her underwear this time and she felt warm fingers gliding though her folds. Kara continued to tease her, touching her everywhere but where she needed to be.

 

Kara would’ve been perfectly content to stay like this, hand down Lena’s pants while Lena’s thighs clenched desperately around her torso, for the rest of the day. But she remembered they had things to get done so, without warning, she brought her fingers up, sloppily circling right where Lena needed her to be as she cried out a chorus of “ _ _don’t stop please don’t stop”.__

 

She wasted no time, drawing tighter, faster circles on Lena’s swollen center. The angle was a little awkward but she managed with minimal discomfort and within seconds she felt Lena’s entire body tense up. Their foreheads rested against one another as Kara continued her movements and Lena’s hips jerked erratically before she began shaking above her, trying to keep her moans to a minimum just in case someone downstairs were to hear. She finally came to a stop as she let her weight fall down onto Kara, letting out another low moan when she felt Kara remove her hand and watched as she brought it up to her lips to suck her fingers clean of Lena’s arousal. It was one of the hottest things that she had ever seen and Lena knew that Kara knew how much she loved it.

 

“You taste so good.” Kara praised, pulling Lena in for a quick kiss, just long enough for her to be able to taste herself on her lips.

 

They showered quickly before heading back into Lena’s room, wrapped in their dressing gowns,  where the hair and makeup ladies were waiting for them.

 

* * *

 

After stepping into her shoes, and adding a significant amount onto her height, Lena stood in front of the mirror in her bathroom to give herself a quick once over. Once again, her mother had chosen her dress well. She wore a floor length red dress that highlighted her shoulders and neck beautifully. Technically, the dress was strapless. The thick red straps rested on the side of her arms instead of atop her shoulders, it was restricting her movement a little but she could tolerate it for one night. Her hair was pinned to one side, thick dark curls flowing down over her right shoulder, leaving the left side completely bare. Her lips were the same shade of red as her dress and the silver necklace she wore around her neck sparkled every time it caught the light.

 

She had seen herself like this plenty of times, tonight she was more excited to see Kara. Her mother had picked out a dress for her too and Lena was nervous. She knew Kara could pull off anything, but she wasn’t sure whether or not her mother was cruel enough to put that statement to the test. Despite being inside the bathroom, she knocked on the door that lead her out into the bedroom where Kara was getting ready.

 

“Hey, can I come in?” she called through the door.

 

“It’s your room.” she heard Kara call back with a laugh.

 

Lena was not prepared for the sight that met her upon opening the door. Kara’s hair was done up in an intricate braided crown, her makeup was subtle, just enough to show off her natural beauty and her dress. Oh boy, her dress. Lillian had picked out a dress much like Lena’s, only Kara’s had thin straps at the top and, instead of the eye catching red, hers was a sparkling silver color. Lena hadn’t realized her jaw was all but on the floor until she tried to talk. Kara’s face was a mirror image of her own and they just stared in silence for a few moments, taking one another in.

 

“You look-..” she paused, unable to find the words to do her justice.

 

“So do you.” she breathed in agreement.

 

They took a few photos together in Lena’s room before heading downstairs to meet up with the rest of her family. Kara held Lena’s hand firmly in her own as they descended the staircase, partly to comfort Lena but also to comfort herself. She was relieved to be meeting Lena’s family when she knew that she had been professionally done up to their standards, at least she wouldn’t have to worry about appearances.

 

Lena could see a few people down below them as they reached the second floor and descended the final staircase into the foyer.

 

“Ah you must be Kara I assume?” a woman stepped forward when they reached the small crowd of people gathered near the doors, extending a hand out. “Lillian Luthor.”

 

“Yes, it’s lovely to meet you.” Kara willed herself not to stutter. “You have a lovely home.”

 

“Thank you.” Lillian replied curtly, face completely expressionless. She turned to Lena. “It’s ah.. nice to see you too, Lena.”

 

Lena could tell it was an act, but if her mother was willing to play it civil then so was she.

 

“The dresses are lovely mother, you chose well.” she plastered the most convincing smile she could onto her face.

 

Lillian simply nodded in reply before returning to the conversation that she had been having beforehand.

 

“Well that went better than I anticipated.” Lena laughed, squeezing Kara’s hand in her own. “At least she didn’t tear our faces off.”

 

The crowd of people were ushered outside and into the variety of cars that were lined up and waiting to take them to the venue. Lena and Kara slid into the back of the last car in the line, they were the last two remaining so thankfully they got the car to themselves. Lena was just about to close the door when a hand stopped her and Lex, slightly out of breath, slid into the seat opposite them.

 

“Oh God, do you think mom noticed how late I was?” he asked as he fumbled with his tie.

 

It was the first time Lena has seen or spoken to him since she left on Thanksgiving and she wasn’t sure where they stood.

 

“No, I don’t think she did.” she replied, watching as he tucked his shirt into his pants and tidied up as best he could in the back seat of a limousine.

 

“You look beautiful, by the way.” he finally settled in and put on his seat belt. “And you’re Kara I presume?” he turned to the blonde.

 

“Yeah, it’s nice to finally meet you.” Kara smiled politely.

 

“Sorry about all the craziness, I was working late and totally lost track of time.” he told them.

 

The rest of the car ride was much the same, they made small talk and avoided the subject of Thanksgiving. Lex seemed his usual self and Lena really had missed him, it was nice to have a quiet moment alone with both him and Kara before they had to endure a few hours of smiling politely at strangers and pretending to be interested in their conversations.

 

* * *

 

Kara watched from the buffet table as Lena engaged in conversation with an elderly woman across the room. She could tell Lena was bored but she was doing an excellent job of pretending to be interested. She smiled as continued to watch, admiring Lena from afar before she heard someone clear their throat behind her and she turned around. It was Lillian.

 

“Oh, hi Mrs Luthor, you put together quite the ball.” she complimented sincerely.

 

“Cut the bullshit miss Danvers, we all know you’re here for one reason and one reason only.” Lillian’s harsh gaze burned into her soul but Kara refused to break eye contact.

 

“I’m not sure what you mean?” she replied kindly, setting her glass down on the table.

 

“Oh come on, we all know Lena isn’t an easy person to love. She’s cold and distant and extremely frustrating most of the time, but she does come from a family of money. I hardly think someone like __you__  would be interested in her for any other reason.”

 

Kara felt anger bubbling up inside her at Lillian’s words. She didn’t care about the fact that Lillian thought she was a blatant gold digger, but she wouldn’t have Lillian, or anyone else for that matter, putting Lena down in that way. She willed herself to take a breath and calm down before talking again.

 

“Miss Luthor, Lena is one of the strongest, most intelligent and amazing women I know - and I’m lucky enough to be surrounded by a lot of amazing women. I didn’t know that Lena came from money when we met, not that I owe you an explanation, but I fell in love with her intelligence and her sense of humor. I love her for who she is, not for the amount of money in her bank account. Sure, I may not come from money but my family and I, we do more than alright for ourselves. My mother is a widowed full-time working mother just like yourself, the only difference is that she welcomed her daughter’s girlfriend with open arms. Now, if you’ll excuse me.” Kara said as politely as she could before turning around and leaving the hall.

 

She headed outside to the balcony in the back, the cold air was welcomed on her skin and she took a few deep breaths, allowing it to help cool the burning rage still inside of her. She wasn’t sure how long she was outside before Lena found her, shivering on the bench overlooking the large gardens.

 

“Hey, what are you doing out here? It’s freezing.” she wrapped her arms around herself before sitting down next to Kara.

 

“No, come on, you’re not sitting out here it’s freezing.” Kara said sternly, standing up immediately.

 

“I just said that.” Lena laughed. “You’re gonna sit out here and freeze your ass off but I can’t?”

 

“That’s exactly right.” Kara took her hand. “I love you too much for that.”

 

Lena sensed a heaviness to her words that went beyond the risk of her being cold, but she let it go for now, determined to have at least a little fun this evening.

 

Kara held Lena a little closer in bed that night. She wasn’t entirely comfortable with being under Lillian’s roof after the things that she had said about Lena, but she didn’t want to make a scene so they had driven home and gone quietly to bed. Kara told Lena what had happened on the drive back, and it hurt her even more that Lena wasn’t even phased by the things Lillian had said about her. She had grown so used to it that it didn’t bother her.

 

“I love you so much.” she whispered into a sleeping Lena’s forehead before placing a soft, lingering kiss there.

 

* * *

 

On Christmas Eve, the girls were all seated in the living room when Eliza came in carrying a large basket with things overflowing out of the top and Kara bounced excitedly up and down in her seat.

 

“Okay girls are you ready?” she asked enthusiastically, setting the box down on the coffee table in the center of the room.

 

She was met with a chorus of yeses from Kara, Alex and Maggie but Lena wasn’t sure what was happening as Eliza began pulling a variety of things from the box and passing them out to each of the girls.

 

“Okay, here are your pajamas.” she pulled five sets of the same matching pajamas out and passed them around the room. “and your mugs.”

 

Lena felt herself tearing up at the white mug that had been placed in her hand with a large black “L” printed on it. There was already a pack of mini marshmallows and a sachet of hot chocolate inside of it and she had never been a part of anything like this before. Looking around the room, she saw that they each had their own mug with their own initials on it.

 

“Okay, face masks.” Eliza passed those around too. “And lastly, movies.” she pulled a pile of DVDs from the box, Lena recognized some of them as the ones she and Kara had watched together but others were new to her.

 

They quickly headed upstairs and took turns in the shower. It was dark outside by the time they were all back in the living room, smelling like spiced apples from the shower gel that they had used and dressed in their extremely comfortable matching Christmas pajamas.

 

Eliza was seated in the middle of the couch with a cushion on the floor between her feet.

 

“Okay, who’s first?” she asked as they all settled down beside her.

 

“Oh oh me please!” Kara shot up excitedly, sitting down on the cushion on the floor as her mom began to comb her hair. Lena watched as she parted it down the middle and then french braided both sides until Kara was left with two french braided pigtails.

 

Lena watched her repeat it twice more on both Alex and Maggie before it was her turn. The other girls had gone off to boil the water for their mugs of hot coco and, as Eliza gently styled her hair, Lena found herself crying. She hoped that Eliza wouldn’t notice but she caught on straight away and stopped what she was doing.

 

“Oh, Lena sweetie are you alright? Did I hurt you?” she placed a comforting hand on her shoulder as she spoke.

 

“Oh no of course not, it’s just.. This is one of the best Christmases I’ve ever had. I don’t know how to thank you.” Lena admitted quietly.

 

“Oh, sweetie you don’t have to thank me. It’s truly my pleasure to have you here.” she began to comb Lena’s hair once again as she spoke. “It wasn’t easy for Kara to settle in here, and I’ve always worried about her but after seeing her with you, I’ve never seen her so at peace with herself. It’s like she finally feels like she has a purpose here on earth, and I owe that all to you.”

 

Kara walked in before they could say anything more and set Lena’s mug down on the table in front of her as they fell silent. When Lena’s hair was done and out of her face, they each opened up their face masks and put them on whilst Eliza and Alex set up the first movie of the evening.

 

Lena curled up next to Kara as the title flashed across the screen.

 

_The Polar Express_

 

* * *

 

They woke up early on Christmas morning and headed downstairs to open up all of their presents. Lena had brought gifts for everyone, nothing too extravagant but she wanted to let them know how thankful she was. She watched as Alex and Maggie unwrapped the matching leather jackets that she had bought them, smiled when Eliza thanked her for the books and the case of expensive wine that Eliza insisted she shouldn’t have bought her and melted into the kiss that Kara had given her when she opened up the box containing the beautiful silver, heart shaped locket that she had gotten her, along with a top of the range telescope.

 

What Lena hadn’t been expecting however, was to receive any gifts in return. She teared up as she pulled on the soft woolly sweater that Eliza had knitted for her, with her name embroidered along the front. She had made one for each of the girls and Lena loved it. She also hadn’t been expecting the variety of books that she received from Alex and Maggie, but her favourite was Kara’s gift. She pulled back the wrapping paper to reveal a photo frame with an image of the two of them inside. She recognized it immediately, it was from Halloween. They were dressed in their Lucy and Mina costumes and smiling widely into the camera. There were a ton of others that Kara had individually wrapped too, some of just the two of them, some of Lena with her friends, dinners at Alex and Maggie’s place, things like that.

 

“I figured the walls of your apartment could use a little decor.” Kara smiled as Lena admired the photos.

 

“Thank you, I love them so much.” she planted a quick kiss on her lips.

 

After eating breakfast and, much to Lena’s amusement, having what she could only refer to as a Christmas music sing off, they set aside their gifts and went upstairs to get ready for the day.

 

Lena couldn’t help but think that it truly was the most wonderful time of the year.

 

 


	14. Chapter 14

 

 

Kara was laying in bed, head resting on Lena’s chest as she toyed with the silver locket that she received for Christmas. She hadn’t taken it off since Lena had gifted it to her a few days ago and it remained securely around her neck as she held the silver heart between her fingers. They ought to be getting up soon to help prepare for the New Year’s Eve party that Eliza was hosting later this evening but they were both perfectly content to lay here for just a little while longer.

 

“It really is beautiful.” Kara whispered, nuzzling a little further into Lena’s chest. “Where did you get it?”

 

“I, uh, I sorta made it.” Lena blushed as Kara lifted her head to look at her. “I wasn’t planning to tell you until we got back home, but it’s, uh.. Well maybe you should just open it and see for yourself.”

 

Kara studied the heart for a moment until she saw a tiny clasp on the side that she had apparently missed before and flicked it open. A beautiful red stone lay embedded inside, it wasn’t any bigger than an apple seed but it glimmered beautifully when the light shining in from the open window caught it.

 

“Oh wow.” Kara whispered almost reverently. “It’s beautiful.”

 

“Push it down.” Lena nodded towards the stone.

 

“What?”

 

“Push the stone down, with your finger.” Lena clarified.

 

Kara hesitated for a moment before doing exactly as Lena had told her. She pressed gently on the stone and it sunk in a little before it began to emit a somewhat mesmerizing soft red glow.

 

“It’s a mini red sun. Obviously not the actual sun, but pretty close. I’ve been working on it for a while in the labs at school. Alex and Maggie helped of course, although it was painful having to ask them.” Lena breathed a laugh. “It dulls your powers when you press it down, only you can activate it, and when you want it to stop you just close the heart over.”

 

“Lena-”

 

“I just want you to know that there’s no pressure or anything at all, but I thought it would be a comfort if you knew that you didn’t have to worry about holding yourself back.” she told her.

 

“Lena-”

 

“And I totally understand if you’re pissed at me, I know I should have asked but I really wanted to surprise yo-”

 

Kara cut her off with her lips on hers and Lena squeaked quietly in surprise before kissing her back.

 

“This is beyond what I deserve.” Kara pulled away, cheeks lightly flushed pink. “Thank you so much. I love it. And I love __you__.”

 

“I love you too.” Lena smiled, pulling her in for one more kiss before they had to get up. Although one more quickly turned into three more which turned into seven more and soon enough they lost themselves in the feeling of one another until Maggie came to get them.

 

“Ah, so I see you told her about the necklace.” She wiggled her eyebrows as she stuck her head through the door.

 

“Shut up Maggie!” Kara mumbled as Lena, after adjusting her shirt back into place, attempted to throw a pillow in Maggie’s direction and failed miserably.

 

“Come on lovebirds, Eliza wants us all downstairs to help get everything sorted for tonight.” Maggie told them before leaving them alone once again.

 

The knowledge of Kara not having to hold back her strength anymore was doing things to both of them and Kara hadn’t realized how desperately she had been holding back her needs until she didn’t have to anymore and _Rao_  she wanted Lena. She wanted her more than she thought was possible.

 

They reluctantly got out of bed and made themselves a little more presentable before heading downstairs where they found Eliza dressed in her work clothes and excitedly fussing over everything. She had packs of banners and balloons and streamers and party horns, everything one could possibly ever need for a party. It was a major difference from what Lena was used to. It seemed fun and exciting, a lot more relaxed without Lillian’s compulsive need for everything to look perfect.

 

“Okay, I have to leave for work soon. I promise I’ll be home in time to ring in the new year with you guys but right now, Alex and Maggie I need you two to pick up the food for the buffet and _do not_  let Kara near any of it until everyone else has had some first, understood? Kara and Lena, can I count on you guys to hang the banners and tidy the place up a little?”

 

“Of course, mom.”

 

“You got it Eliza.”

 

“Yeah mom we’ll do that.”

 

“We’d be happy to.”

 

They spent the day preparing the house and making sure that everything was in order for the guests arriving later on in the evening. The biggest challenge had been trying to keep Kara away from the food, although they succeeded with only a few casualties to the potstickers.

 

Lena was seated cross- legged on the floor of Kara’s room, dressed only in an oversized button up plaid shirt as she applied her makeup in front the large mirror. Kara had run downstairs to get a drink for them both and was now standing in the doorway of her room, just taking in the sight before her. She loved Lena like this. The ‘before’ Lena, prior to all the glitz and glam. Not that she didn’t appreciate the ‘after’ version too, because _Rao_  she did, Lena looked beautiful in anything, but there was something that made her feel so special about seeing this Lena.

 

“Hey freak are you gonna keep staring or are you gonna get your cute little butt over here?” Lena laughed into the mirror as she caught Kara’s eye.

 

“Sorry.” she smiled dreamily back. “You look beautiful.”

 

Lena turned to face Kara at that, an amused smile playing on her lips as Kara handed her the glass.

 

“My makeup isn’t done yet, dork.”

 

“Since when does your makeup need to be done for you to look beautiful?” Kara asked as she took a seat on the floor beside her.

 

“I’m serious, you know. You’re beautiful.” she brushed a stray strand of hair behind her ear and pecked her lips quickly before edging a little closer and swinging a leg around Lena’s waist to straddle her lap. “So beautiful.”

 

“Kara Danvers, are you trying to get laid?” Lena teased cheekily as she wrapped her arms tightly around Kara’s waist.

 

She was expecting stuttering and blushing, but Kara simply leaned in to her ear, her warm breath causing goosebumps to rise across Lena’s pale skin as she whispered quietly.

 

“Maybe.”

 

Lena opened her mouth to speak but her brain betrayed her and a low moan escaped instead.

 

“Y- Your sister and Maggie.. Right down the hall.” she whispered halfheartedly as Kara’s mouth began kissing along her jaw, her hand creeping slowly under Lena’s shirt.

 

“And?” Kara’s breath tickled the wet skin as she made her way down her neck.

 

Lena wanted to lose herself in the feeling, every fibre of her body was immediately drawn to Kara and it took everything that she had to reluctantly pull herself away.

 

“Oh god you’re gonna be the death of me, Kara Danvers.” she whispered to herself under her breath before shifting to look at her.

  
”I’m so sorry, was that not okay?” Kara asked, voice suddenly laced with insecurity as she made to get up from Lena’s lap until Lena gripped her waist tightly to stop her.

 

“God no it was more than okay, I’m sorry. It’s just that I don’t want your first time to be something we have to rush. Your sister is right down the hall so we would have to be quick, and quiet.. and I fully intend on making you _scream_.” Lena arched her eyebrow suggestively with a smirk as she finished.

 

Kara’s jaw all but hit the floor and she shifted closer to her. She could feel herself blushing furiously but she couldn’t find it in herself to care as she cupped Lena’s face and brought her lips down to meet hers once again in a slow, tender kiss before pulling away and moving off her lap.

 

“I love you.”

 

“I love you, too.”

 

* * *

 

The party was in full swing when Eliza got back to the house later that evening. The guests were mostly just friends of hers from work who had brought their families along, the age range varied from young teens to adults and everyone seemed to be having a great a time.

 

Lena was heading back from the bathroom and tried to locate Kara among the sea of people. She headed straight to the kitchen where she knew the food was all set out on the tables and, sure enough, found Kara immediately. She was chatting to a slightly younger boy, probably one of Eliza’s colleague’s kids, so Lena stayed back a little to let them finish up. It wasn’t until she saw the guy reach around and grab at Kara’s backside that she all but ran over.

 

“Excuse you!” Kara swatted his arm out of the way, immediately wrapping it around Lena’s waist and pulling her close to her side. “I’m very happily taken.”

 

“And for future reference, girls should never be treated like objects.” Lena told him sternly. “You won’t find anyone if you walk around with the mindset that you’re entitled to a woman’s body. You’re not.”

 

The kid grumbled an apology before shuffling off out of sight.

 

“You okay?” she turned to Kara.

 

“I am now.” She smiled before pecking a quick kiss on her lips. “Come on, let’s go dance.”

 

They headed through to the living room where the floor had been turned into a mini makeshift dance floor and the music was blaring loudly from the speakers. Kara had mentioned something about all of their neighbors being in attendance at the party so they thankfully didn’t have to worry about the volume or any noise complaints. They moved together for a while, just the two of them before Eliza came dancing over and pulled them each into a hug as they began to dance with her.

 

“I love you girls.” she kissed each of their cheeks a little sloppily and Lena laughed at the tipsy woman standing in front of her. Eliza was usually on call at work and didn’t have the chance to let loose so it was a nice change to see her being able to enjoy herself and not have to worry about anything for a night.

 

Alex and Maggie found their way over at some point during the song, a handful of novelty ‘2018’ glasses and party hats in their arms as they passed them out to everyone and the five of them danced enthusiastically among the crowd of people dancing around them. Lena felt overwhelmed as she took in her surroundings. Kara’s hand warm and secure in hers, the other women smiling and laughing in front of her. The humorously large glasses perched on each of their faces. She had never had this before, she had never actually enjoyed spending time with family. She had never enjoyed parties or experienced them like this, not until Kara.

 

The yelling broke her out of her thoughts as she realized that the music had been stopped and the guests had begun the countdown.

 

_“TEN!”_

_“NINE !”_

_“EIGHT !”_

__

The crowd began to chant as she turned to Kara with a smile, leaning in closer when Kara’s hand snaked around her waist.

 

_“FIVE !”_

__

__“_ FOUR !”_

__

Lena smiled widely at Alex and Maggie, standing in much the same position that she and Kara were, and they met her grin with an equally happy smile.

 

__“_ THREE !”_

__

_“TWO !”_

__

Kara turned to face Lena, hands cupping her face as Lena cupped Kara’s with her own.

 

_“ONE!!”_

__

Their lips came crashing down and Lena could feel Kara smiling against her before she pulled away.

 

“Happy New Year, I love you.”

 

“I love you, too. Happy New Year babe.” they whispered to one another before bringing their lips together again.

 

It wasn’t until they were tackled by Maggie that they broke apart, laughing.

 

“Happy New Year nerds!” she ruffled their hair and pulled them in for a hug as Alex came over and did the same.

 

“Yeah, Happy New Year. I love you guys”

 

They all spilled outside to watch the fireworks display from the backyard and Lena couldn’t help but notice the way Kara was repeatedly checking her phone every few seconds. Kara usually loved things like this, she knew that she adored fireworks even if they were a little on the loud side for her, but she seemed a little off.

 

“Hey, everything okay?” Lena gestured to the phone still clutched in her hand as the sky erupted in a flash of color.

 

“Yeah yeah, sorry. Clark usually calls me just after midnight but he hasn’t.” Kara told her.

 

“Oh, I’m sorry babe. He probably just got caught up with Lois or passed out early.” Lena breathed a laugh, barely audible over the sound of the fireworks exploding around them. “Lex hasn’t text me back either.”

 

“Yeah, you’re right. They’re probably just passed out drunk somewhere.”

 

Lena pulled Kara in to nuzzle her face into her neck as they held on to one another and admired the way the sky light up.

 

It was one of the best nights that Lena had had in a while and, as she stood there with Kara beneath the stream of colors, she allowed herself to believe that this year was going to be the best year yet.

 

Oh, how wrong she was.

 

 


	15. Chapter 15

 

 

Lena woke to an empty bed the next morning, her brain was pounding against the inside of her skull and her mouth felt dry as she felt around for the glass of water that that knew was on Kara’s nightstand. The cool January air was seeping beneath her pajamas and she quickly tossed back the covers and pulled a few more layers of clothing on before heading downstairs to help tidy the mess that had no doubt been created last night.

 

The house was oddly quiet as she descended the stairs, massaging her temples while she headed into the kitchen where Lena expected to find everyone, most likely trading stories about the night before and laughing over breakfast, but she was met with an empty room and the leftovers from the buffet last night.

 

It wasn’t until she padded through to the living room that she realized something was wrong. Lena lingered unnoticed in the doorway as she took in the sight before her. Kara was curled up with her knees tucked up into her chest, head resting on Eliza’s shoulder as her mom stroked her hair. Her face had a hollow look to it, like all of her usual happiness had been drained from her body and it frightened Lena more than she thought it would. Alex was nowhere to be seen and Maggie was seated on the couch opposite the girls, eyes glued to the muted television as she anxiously bounced her knee up and down. Lena followed her gaze to the screen and all eyes shot in her direction as she let out a strangled cry upon reading the news headline.

 

_LUTHORCORP CEO LEX LUTHOR IN FBI CUSTODY AFTER FAILED ATTEMPT ON SUPERMAN’S LIFE IN BID TO REMOVE ALIENS FROM METROPOLIS RESULTS IN THE DEATH OF 47 CIVILIANS._

 

She couldn’t breathe and half of her was still convinced that she was asleep. She had _just_ seen Lex a few weeks ago and he had been, well, Lex. Not a murderer. Surely this was a mistake. Her brother wasn’t a murderer. He wasn’t.

 

47 people. _47 people._  

 

Superman.

 

Oh, God. Clark.

 

Kara’s cousin. Kara.

 

Kara.

 

Surely this wasn’t happening. She would have heard from her mother by now if it was, it must be some kind of mix up. Someone would’ve told her something. Right?

 

She should’ve noticed something was off with him. Why hadn’t she noticed?

 

She hadn’t realized that she had been thinking out loud until she felt Eliza grip onto her forearms firmly.

 

“Lena sweetie, it’s alright. You’re alright. Can you take a deep breath for me?” Eliza asked calmly.

 

She couldn’t. She couldn’t do anything. The walls were closing in and she was suffocating. Before her brain could catch up, her body had pulled away from Eliza’s grasp and headed straight for the door. She cut straight across the driveway and began sprinting down the street, rocks and stones cutting into the bare skin of her feet as she went, but she couldn’t feel it. She couldn’t feel anything but overwhelming panic. _47 people. Dead._

__

Lena’s lungs were burning when she eventually stopped and doubled over, hands on her knees as she gasped for air. She’s not sure why she ran, she knew Kara could match her pace with as much effort as it takes to blink and sure enough within a second, there was a warm hand rubbing up and down on her back.

 

“It’s okay, Lena. It’s alright.” Kara tried to comfort her.

 

“It’s _not_  alright!” she snapped, whirling around to face Kara. “I can’t- I can’t do this!” she yelled.

 

“Lena.” Kara spoke calmly as she cautiously took a step forward, wincing as Lena immediately backed away and held up a shaking hand to keep Kara back. “Please don’t shut me out.” Kara begged.

 

“I can’t do this Kara! I can’t-” Lena was on the verge of hyperventilating as she tried to get her words out. “Y- You’re not safe with me! I can’t protect you! I can’t do anything!”

 

Lena barely registered her legs giving out until she was being scooped up into a tight hug. Kara pulled her over onto her lap to prevent the cold of the icy sidewalk seeping into her already shivering body and Lena felt a warm hand cradling the back of her head as she cried into Kara’s neck.

 

“I- I’m so-.. sorry.” she sobbed, gripping tightly onto the front of Kara’s shirt.

 

“Why would you ever need to apologize, silly?” Kara placed a kiss on the top of Lena’s head. She was acutely aware of the fact that they were sitting in the middle of a random snow filled street, still dressed in their pyjamas, but making sure Lena was okay was her main priority in this moment.

 

“I can’t- What if he comes for y- you.” she hiccuped. “I can’t keep you safe. You should leave me. You don’t deserve this. I’m so s- sorry.”

 

“Hey, look at me, please.” Kara cupped her face gently and tilted her head up until she could look into Lena’s teary bloodshot eyes. “You didn’t do anything wrong, Lena. You have the biggest heart of anyone I’ve ever known. You’re so, __so__ good. You feel everyone else’s pain even when it’s not your responsibility and I know that’s a massive burden to bear, but I don’t need you to keep me safe. You make me happy, Lena. So happy, and I think it would kill me if you left me over something like this. I love you so much, and I’d do whatever it takes to make you happy, even if that means you want to leave me. But please, please don’t tell me to leave because you think you’re bad for me. You’re the best thing that’s ever happened to me, Lena. We’ll get through this together.”

 

Lena buried her face in Kara’s neck once again as a fresh wave of tears hit. Kara’s hand never left her back, rubbing up and down to soothe her until a car pulled up in front of them a few moments later and Eliza and Maggie came rushing out.

 

“Oh gosh Lena sweetie, come on, you’re freezing.” Eliza crouched down to help pull Lena up as Maggie extended a hand out to Kara.

 

Once they were safely in the car, Eliza drove them back home in silence. Lena felt nothing, her eyes wouldn’t focus on any particular thing so she stared numbly at Kara’s hand in her lap for the duration of the ride.

 

_47 people._

__

She vaguely registered being brought from the car into the front hallway, and then from the hallway up to Kara’s bedroom, it felt as though she was in a trance. Her limbs felt heavy as Kara guided Lena to sit down on her bed before she began stripping her wet clothes off of her. She rummaged around in her closet and returned with a warm fuzzy sweater and a fresh pair of pyjama pants that she immediately pulled onto her shivering body.

 

Kara was still trying to process everything herself, but Clark had escaped pretty much untouched. Lena didn’t have that same comfort, she was processing the situation while simultaneously grieving for the brother she thought that she had, and Kara knew her heart. She knew that Lena was feeling guilty for grieving Lex when there were 47 other families grieving the loss of their mothers, fathers, children, cousins, friends at his hands.

 

“What do you need?” Kara crouched down in front of her, hands on Lena’s knees as she looked up.

 

She had stopped crying now although her eyes still had a glassy look to them and her voice sounded broken when she spoke.

 

“C- Can you just hold me, please?” her voice was barely audible to the human ear but Kara heard her perfectly.

 

“Of course babe, of course I can.”

 

She guided Lena back underneath the covers before quickly changing out of her own wet clothes and slipping into bed beside her. Kara pulled Lena over so that she could hold her as close as possible while their legs tangled together.

 

The silence was almost unbearable for Lena, it left her too much space to think about everything and she was beginning to feel the walls closing in once again. Kara noticed the change in her heartbeat immediately, could feel the way her breath was beginning to pick up again, so she pulled her closer and began singing softly.

 

_Can’t say how the days will unfold,_

_Can’t change what the future may hold,_

_But I want you in it,_

_Every hour, every minute._

__

Lena zoned in on the sound of her voice and focused on her own breathing in an attempt to calm herself.

 

__But it’s clear now,_ _

__When you’re standing here now._ _

__I am meant to be wherever you are next to me._ _

__

Her heart began to calm once again as Lena snuggled in impossibly closer and let her eyes flutter closed.

 

_All I want to do,_

_Is come running home to you._

_And all my life I promise to,_

_Keep running home to you._

 

* * *

 

When Lena woke a few hours later, it took her a moment before everything came flooding back and she immediately shot upright as the panic settled in the pit of her stomach. It hadn’t been a dream.

 

“Hey, hey, hey it’s okay I’m right here.” Kara was beside her instantly with a glass of ice cold water in her hand which she gratefully accepted.

 

Kara guided her up and out of bed and she winced as her feet hit the floor, memories of her early run coming back as she limped across the carpet until Kara bent down in front of her and scooped her up onto her back. They looked somewhat comical as Kara piggy backed Lena downstairs, and despite the circumstances, Lena found herself smiling ever so slightly at the gesture.

 

They found Eliza in the now squeaky clean kitchen, standing at the counter with the girls initialed mugs from Christmas eve as she waited for the kettle to boil. Kara set Lena down at the table and then headed through into the kitchen to help her mom with the tea. Eliza returned with Lena’s mug in one hand and a first aid kit in the other before she sat down and began sifting through it in search of what she needed.

 

“I’m so sorry about earlier.” Lena turned to the older woman. “I didn’t intend to cause such a scene and I completely understand if you wish for me to leave.”

 

Eliza abandoned the scattered first aid kit in favor of rounding the table and crouching down beside Lena, taking her hand in her own as she spoke.

 

“Sweetie, I don’t want you to ever apologize for how you process your emotions. I can’t imagine how difficult this must be for you and you’re handling it like a champion. I’m so proud of you Lena and we’ll be here every step of the way, alright?”

 

Lena couldn’t help the steady stream of tears that began to escape her as Eliza pulled her in for a hug.

 

“Thank you so much. I-.. it means the world to me.” her voice was slightly muffled by Eliza’s shoulder. “I truly can’t thank you enough for everything you’ve already done for me Eliza. Just-.. Thank you.”

 

“That’s what family does, sweetheart.” Eliza pulled away before cupping Lena’s face and wiping her tears away with the pads of her thumb. “Now, let me take a look at your feet. We can’t have you limping around forever, can we?”

 

Kara returned a few moments later, closely followed by Maggie and they sat around the table drinking their tea whilst Eliza cleaned and bandaged Lena’s feet. As she sat there sipping on the warm liquid from her mug, Lena couldn’t help but notice that something was still a little off about the whole situation.

 

“Hey, where’s Alex?”

 

 


	16. Chapter 16

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> it's been 84 years i know i'm literally the worst person alive i'm so sorry this took so long i don't even have an excuse i just got lost in my other fic and forgot about this one, i think the lesson here is that i can only write one at a time so now that we cleared that up pls enjoy and i apologize once again xx

 

 

_"Hey, where’s Alex?”_

__

Lena sensed a little hesitation as she looked around the table at the faces currently staring at her. She was missing something, she knew that much, but she just didn’t know what she was missing.

 

“Do you want me to tell her?” Maggie turned to Kara and asked quietly, but not nearly quiet enough for Lena to be unable to hear what she had said.

 

“No, no it’s fine I’ll tell her.” Kara told Maggie before turning to face Lena. “Alex is-.. You know how I had to clear it with her before telling you who I was? _What_ I was?” she asked Lena, taking her hand in her own as she watched her carefully.

 

“Yeah, I do.” Lena replied simply, brow furrowed in confusion as Kara began to speak once again.

 

“Well, I had to do that because Alex is.. She works in a secret branch of the government dedicated to protecting earth from alien threats, or in my case, offering assistance to immigrants that came here for safety like Clark and myself.”

 

Lena’s brain was buzzing and she couldn’t quite wrap her head around everything, none of this had even remotely crossed her mind yesterday. She had been happy, and now she felt like she was stuck in a bad dream that she couldn’t wake up from.

 

“Wait so, she isn’t a detective?” she blurted out, unable to come up with anything else in the moment.

 

“No, she’s a government agent.” Maggie replied as Kara continued to study Lena’s face carefully.

 

“Okay, okay, okay.” Lena nodded to herself. “So, where is she right now?”

 

“Well, that’s the thing.” Kara spoke up once again. “Lex attacked Superman, and he’s an alien, which means it falls into her branch of the government’s territory.” she told her, hoping that Lena would be able to piece together the rest.

 

Usually she would, but her brain was in shock and she couldn’t do anything but listen to the information that she was being given and try her very best to process it. When it became clear that Lena wasn’t going to work it out on her own without being explicitly told, Maggie took her other hand and began to speak.

 

“She was called away during the attack last night, she’s in Metropolis with the rest of her team. She’s alright, but there’s a lot of damage that needs to be dealt with.” Maggie informed her gently.

 

“I just.. I don’t.. How could this have happened? I don’t understand.. I don’t.” Lena whispered somewhat to herself, and Kara felt her heart break at the sight before her.

 

“It’s gonna be alright babe, I’m here for whatever you need, okay?” Kara tried to assure her as she gently stroked her thumb over the top of Lena’s hand in an attempt to comfort her.

 

They spent the majority of the day sitting around the kitchen table, occasionally making small talk but mostly just trying to process the whole thing in the comfort of one anothers presence. Alex called around dinner time to give them an update, she wasn’t permitted to tell them too much, a lot of the information was classified, but she assured them that she was alright and told them what she could. She informed Kara that an agent was on his way to question Lena, but not to worry given the fact that she was with them the entire time and she was completely oblivious to the whole thing. When Kara hung up the phone, she had hesitantly gone through to the kitchen to let Lena know that an agent would be coming by soon and that she wasn’t going to leave her side the entire time.

 

Lena had been expecting it, she was actually surprised that it had taken almost an entire day before someone wanted to question her. From the moment that the agent stepped into the house, it was extremely clear that Lena had absolutely no knowledge or involvement in the whole thing and he quickly dismissed her as an accomplice. She was informed that her mother had also been questioned, but at that moment in time the agent was unable to confirm whether or not she had any involvement in the attack.

 

She slept restlessly that night, there were so many different thoughts rushing through her head that she wasn’t sure which one to focus on. She wanted to do something, she wanted to help, but she knew that she couldn’t and she wouldn’t even know where to start. The Luthor’s bank accounts had been frozen to prevent Lex or Lillian attempting to flee the country, so Lena had no money to help anyone out with. She felt stuck and guilty and overwhelmed, but the way that Kara had dealt with the whole thing filled her with more love than she thought possible. Kara held her and listened to her talk, she let Lena get it all out, everything and anything that she needed to say and then she would reply when necessary. Lena is positive she wouldn’t have been able to handle it without her, without any of them. Eliza and Maggie had been incredible too and she truly felt like she finally belonged somewhere, that she mattered and that she was actually wanted, if she could take one good thing away from the whole experience, it would be the knowledge of that.

 

* * *

 

The next few days passed much in the same way, there was barely anything that they could do despite that fact that all of them were aching to help. Alex called with updates when she could, and Eliza was busy with work. She had taken a few days off to make sure that everything was alright, but she was required at work so she had to go back. Lena, Kara and Maggie spent the days trying to be as normal as they could although it was almost painfully obvious that Alex was missing, and that in turn that reminded them why. News of the attack was everywhere they looked, every time that they switched on the TV there was some news story or reporter talking about it. It was all over social media and while she tried not to, Lena couldn’t help but read every single thing relating to it.

 

After the initial shock wore off, it became a little more plausible in her mind that Lex could have orchestrated an attack like the one he had. She wouldn’t go as far as saying that it made sense, she didn’t think that it ever would, but her mind slowly began processing the reality of what he had done. She hadn’t heard from her mother since she had left the house the day after the Luthor Christmas Ball and she was more than a little relieved about it. According to what she had heard from the news, Lillian didn’t have any involvement in the attack and it comforted Lena a tiny little bit. She hadn’t spoken to Lex, and she had no intention of ever doing so again, the brother that she thought she had was long gone, and while grieving for him was extremely hard on her, Kara had been there every step of the way.

 

“Hey, you wanna take a walk?” Kara appeared in the doorway of her room and asked Lena on one of their last days in Midvale before they were due to be returning back to National City for school.

 

“Yeah, sure.” Lena smiled softly in reply as she swung her legs over the side of the bed and got up.

 

They headed down the stairs to grab their coats and shoes before letting Maggie and Eliza know that they were heading out. The freezing cold air that surrounded them was a sharp contrast from the warm bed that Lena had just crawled out of and Kara immediately pulled her close while they walked. Lena wasn’t sure where they were headed or if they were even going anywhere in particular, but she was content to just be out of the house and have Kara by her side.

 

The ground sparkled with ice as they walked down the path, taking extra care not to slip and fall over. Lena could see her breath appear in the form of a thick white cloud in the air in front of her each time she exhaled and they walked silently for a while through the town before they rounded a corner and the wide expanse of the ocean came into view.

 

“Are we going to the beach?” Lena asked as they started heading in the direction of the water.

 

“Yeah, is that alright?” Kara turned to face her while they walked.

 

“Of course.” she smiled in reply.

 

The sand crunched under their feet as the path emerged out onto the beach and they weaved around the little green clumps of grass that were strewn across the ground as they made their way down to the shoreline. It was ridiculously cold and the winds blowing in with the water weren’t helping matters at all but Lena felt oddly at peace as they walked.

 

“I used to come here a lot when I first came to earth.” Kara told her, speaking up for the first time in a while as they slowed to a stop at a a pile of what appeared to be large rocks and Kara clambered onto one of them.

 

Lena waited until she was settled before climbing up beside her with Kara’s assistance, the stone was freezing beneath her as she wriggled around in an attempt to get comfortable before turning her attention back to Kara once more.

 

“Everything was always just a little too much for me in the beginning, but there was something about being here that allowed me to zone it all out. I would just focus on the sound of the waves and it always seemed to calm me down, I feel like you’ve felt a little like that the past few days.” Kara admitted as she intertwined her fingers with Lena’s.

 

“Overwhelmed?” Lena questioned.

 

“Yeah.” Kara confirmed as she stoked her thumb over the top of her hand.

 

“I am.” she admitted quietly. “I guess I’m just scared to go back to school, I’m worried about how people will react to me after everything and I hate feeling so helpless, I want to do something, I want to help the people who were affected by this but I can’t, not yet at least.”  

“Lena, you didn’t do anything wrong!” Kara pointed out. “You were just as blindsided as the rest of us, maybe even more so!”

 

It was a conversation that they’d had more than a few times over the past few days, Lena worrying about people having an issue with her whilst Kara insisted that she was completely innocent and reassured her that everything would be alright.

 

Lena still didn’t fully believe her, but she did believe that Kara would be by her side and the knowledge made the thought of facing life once they broke out of their little Midvale bubble just the slightest bit more tolerable.

 

* * *

 

Alex didn’t end up returning to Midvale before they had to leave, Maggie had packed both of their things up and was flying back to National City with Kara and Lena later that day where Alex would meet them at the airport.

 

Lena was in the middle of zipping up her now fully packed case when she felt Kara’s arms snake around her waist and she relaxed back into the embrace. She was ready to go back to school and try to get into a somewhat normal routine again. It took her a few days to fully realize that if she wanted to help people the next step she could take would be returning to school, and the knowledge of why she was doing it made it a little easier to combat the fear rising up in her chest at all of the things that could potentially go wrong.

 

“You ready to go back?” she asked Kara as she craned her neck around to place a kiss on her cheek.

 

“I am, are you?” Kara questioned as she held her a little tighter.

 

“Yeah, I think so.” Lena nodded with a smile. “As ready as I’ll ever be at least.”

 

Eliza was waiting for them in the kitchen once they all trudged down the stairs with their bags and cases in tow, she had made them one last big family lunch before they all headed off back to National City for the next few months and they took their seats around the table before tucking into the food.

 

“I’m gonna miss you guys so much, I know the circumstances weren’t exactly the best but I’ve really loved having you all here.” Eliza told them with a smile. “I hope you all know that you’re more than welcome here anytime.”

 

They ate the rest of their meal in relative silence, swapping small talk occasionally and double checking that they had the right flight details for the trip home before they began collecting their plates and heading into the kitchen to wash them up. Kara cleaned them whilst Maggie grabbed a towel to dry everything off and Lena took the opportunity to pull Eliza off to the side and ask her if they could talk for a moment.

 

“Is everything alright sweetie?” Eliza asked once the two of them were seated on the couch in the living room and out of earshot of Kara and Maggie.

 

“Yeah everything is fine, I just wanted to tell you privately how thankful I am for everything that you’ve done for me, not only this past week but since the moment we first met.” Lena told her as she fought back tears. “I can’t thank you enough, and I’m so incredibly sorry for everything that happened with my brother and that I brought it into your household, I never intended to cause you any hassle or anything like that when you’ve been nothing but unbelievably kind to me since the moment we first spoke.”

 

“Oh, Lena.” Eliza abruptly pulled her into a hug. “You really have to stop thanking me for everything, and enough with the apologies! It’s truly been my pleasure getting to know you, and you have never once been a hassle. You’re welcome here any time and I want you to remember that.” she whispered as her arms tightened ever so slightly around Lena.

 

Lena had to wipe away a few stray tears that had escaped once she pulled back from the hug. She had never really experienced the whole homesick thing before, she always loved leaving the Luthor mansion to go to school, but she finally felt like she was beginning to understand what people meant by it. She was going to miss Eliza and Midvale when they returned to National City, but she knew that they would be back soon enough.

 

* * *

 

Stepping into her apartment for the first time in a few weeks was a weird feeling. Lena hadn’t been alone since they had last left National City and it felt odd without Kara by her side. She had offered to come back to her apartment with her, but Lena knew that Kara had a lot of stuff to unpack and she hadn’t seen Lucy for a few weeks so she insisted that she go back to her dorm and she would see her tomorrow before classes started back up the following day. She was still a little worried about how people would react to her, but she knew that there was nothing she could do about it. The situation was out of her control, she just had to try and keep her head down.

 

The first thing Lena did after setting her case down on her bed was open it up and locate the carefully wrapped up stack of photo frames that Kara had gifted her for Christmas. She pulled them all out, completely disregarding the few weeks worth of clothes that needed to be unpacked and put away as she headed into the main area of her apartment with all of the photos stacked up against her chest. She spent a little time hanging them up on the walls around her apartment and smiling at the memories that came along with each of the photos. There were so many of them, each in a different yet equally beautiful frame and Lena adored them. She adored how happy she looked in all of them, she adored the way Kara always held onto her so tightly as they beamed up at the camera and she adored the family that she had created for herself.

 

She thought back to this time last year and she never would have imagined back then that she would be where she is now. It was both a good and bad thing, Lena never ever in a million years would’ve thought that it was possible for her brother to have so much hatred inside of him and she knew that moving forward in life with the knowledge of what he had done looming over her head was going to be a challenge, but she also never would have imagined that she would have someone as amazing as Kara in her life either. Lena had essentially been alone until Kara, she never had any real friends or anyone to rely on. It was always just Lena taking on the world, but now she had Kara by her side and she didn’t even have the words to express how much that meant to her. Kara was the butterfly that had fluttered into Lena’s life and gradually created a tornado of love and kindness and family in a way that Lena had never known before.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> the last chapter will be up tonight or tomorrow depending on when i finish it, i felt so bad for making u guys wait so it will be soon i promise


	17. Chapter 17

 

 

Lena would be lying if she said that she hadn’t noticed the way people whisper and stare at her as she makes her way down the hallways of the large building or steps into the dining hall for lunch each day. When Lex’s trial begins she quickly becomes the center of attention at school and she can feel everyone’s eyes on her wherever she goes, although it wasn’t in the way she was initially expecting. She realized rather quickly that the looks of hatred and disgust that she was expecting people to send her way were actually looks of sadness and something resembling pity. She didn’t want people pitying her, but she had to admit that it was a massive relief to know that her classmates didn’t blame her for what happened.

 

Of course, there was the occasional asshole that popped up in her face and began yelling slurs in her direction or demanding that she admit that she knew about the attack. Some people were struggling to comprehend the fact that Lena truly had no idea what Lex was planning, but those people didn’t know her home situation and she found immense comfort in the knowledge that the people closest to her knew the truth and believed in her wholeheartedly. Those were the only opinions that mattered to her.

 

After the trial was over and the news that Lex would be spending the rest of his days rotting away in a maximum security jail cell whilst he served his time was revealed, the attention on Lena started to die down. It was gradual at first, and it took a while, but people eventually stopped paying attention to her every move. They stopped looking at her as though she was going to break down at any moment and they let her move on with her life. She hadn’t attended any parties or anything that wasn’t compulsory since returning from winter break and if she was being honest, she missed it. She hadn’t meant to isolate herself so much from everyone, but she respected that they were trying to give her space during the trial to process everything in whichever way she wanted to, but it wasn’t until everything died down that she realized how badly she missed everything.

 

Her life consisted of going to class and then heading straight back to her apartment and she was sick and tired of the constant repetition. She wanted to go out and have fun with Kara and the rest of her friends, she wanted to let loose and enjoy herself like she used to. Lena was gradually beginning to realize that the attack wasn’t her fault, and while she was still struggling with a little bit of guilt, she finally felt ready to stop punishing herself for a crime that she hadn’t committed.

 

“Hey, are you alright? What are you thinking about so intensely over there?” Kara interrupted Lena’s train of thought as she emerged from the shower and spotted Lena laying on the bed staring out into space.

 

“Nothing really, I think I want to go out tonight if you’re up for it?” she questioned as she watched Kara casually strip off her towel and begin to pull on her clothes.

 

“Yeah, sure, that sounds like a good idea.” Lena could tell Kara was trying to hide the surprise in her voice. “Did you have anywhere specific in mind?”

 

“Not really, I just miss you.” Lena admitted quietly.

 

“I’m right here.” Kara’s brow furrowed ever so slightly in confusion as she buttoned up her jeans and moved over to the bed to sit down next to Lena.

 

“I know.. I just, I feel like I’ve been more than a little selfish the past few weeks what with the trial and everything, I know that we haven’t gone out and done stuff like we usually do and I just don’t want you thinking that I don’t care about you or anything.” she confessed, fighting back the tears that were beginning to well up in her eyes.

 

“Oh babe no, I would never ever think that!” Kara promised. “Nothing about this has been easy but I’m so insanely proud of the way that you’ve handled it all. You’re one of the strongest women that I know and I would never doubt your feelings for me, I know that you love me Lena, and I love too. I love you so much.”

 

Lena didn’t reply to that, instead she shuffled over on the bed and pulled Kara into a long hug and allowed the familiar scent of faint vanilla and something so acutely Kara to overcome her senses as she relaxed into her arms and they simply held one another for a while.

 

“You know..” Kara spoke up after a few moments, gently tracing her fingers up and down the expanse of Lena’s back. “If you were only going to go out for me, I can think of something else that we can do without even having to leave this bed.”

 

“Are you really getting horny in the middle of me having an emotional breakdown?” Lena’s voice was slightly muffled as she spoke into her shoulder.

 

“What.. No, babe, I’m sorry I didn’t mean..” Kara spluttered as she pulled away to look at her.

 

“I was teasing you idiot.” Lena laughed at the panic on Kara’s face. “I think that sounds like a wonderful plan for the evening.”

 

“You do?” Kara inquired as she arched her eyebrow provocatively.

 

“Uh huh.” Lena breathed as she slowly scooted her way back towards the headboard, arms around Kara’s neck so that she could guide her down with her.

 

“Are you sure you’re alright though? I promise I’m here if you need to talk or anyth-..”

 

Kara was cut off mid sentence by Lena pulling her the rest of the way down and joining their lips together. They each moaned lowly into it as they kissed, it wasn’t hurried or desperate, it was just familiar warmth and softness and everything that they each needed in that moment. Their lips danced together in a long perfected routine until Lena was gasping for breath and reluctantly pulled away.

 

Kara took the opportunity to free her from her shirt before pulling her own up over her head and smirking slightly at the moan that escaped Lena upon seeing the expanse of newly exposed skin. Her hands immediately found their way to Kara’s waist as she tugged her down lightly to press their torsos together. Kara always tended to run a little on the warm side anyway, but the way that she heated up when they were together like this always ironically sent a shiver down Lena’s spine. She couldn’t get enough of her like this, Kara had only grown comfortable enough to let Lena touch her a few times despite knowing that she didn’t have to worry about controlling her powers anymore, and Lena was more than okay with taking things at whichever pace Kara was comfortable with but she reveled in the moments that Kara allowed her to explore her with her fingers. She was always so soft and silky and Lena was intoxicated by it.

 

Things quickly grew in intensity once they had each wrestled themselves out of their jeans and Lena found herself kissing her way down Kara’s well toned stomach, making sure that she didn’t miss a single inch with her lips as she slowly moved down. She desperately wanted to move further, but Kara hadn’t been ready for that quite yet so Lena simply continued what she was doing until she felt the hand currently tangled in her hair tug on it slightly and she lifted her head up to face Kara.

 

“You okay?” she asked softly, eyes scanning over her face for any signs of discomfort.

 

“Lena.. can you.. please.” Kara breathed desperately as she arched her hips up into Lena’s stomach.

 

“You want me to go down on you?” Lena questioned with a slight smirk.

 

“God, don’t say it like that.” Kara blushed lightly as she hid her face with her forearm. “It sounds like you’re taking my fast food order or something.”

 

Lena audibly laughed at that and quickly made her way up the length of Kara’s body to move her arm away from her face and press a soft kiss to her lips.

 

“So, is the answer yes or..?” she trailed off with another quick kiss.

 

“Yes, please.” Kara all but begged.

 

Lena immediately reached over to the nightstand to locate a hair tie whilst Kara watched with rapt attention. She was still straddling her waist, up on her knees as she found what she was looking for and quickly threw her hair up into a sloppy bun to keep it out of her face. When she was done, Lena reached forward just a little to open the silver heart locket currently around Kara’s neck and pushed down on the little red stone before she slowly began shuffling down the bed and settled on her stomach in the space between Kara’s legs. She started slowly, opting to place a few kisses on the inside of her thighs as she kept an eye on Kara’s reaction to the whole thing. She wanted to make sure that she was alright with everything even though she had asked for it. The first touch of Lena’s tongue against her centre tickled and Kara’s hips bucked up a little at the new sensation.

 

“All good?” Lena’s head popped up momentarily to check in.

 

“All good.” Kara confirmed with a nod. “It just tickles a little.”

 

Lena’s next stroke of her tongue is firmer and more confident now that she knows Kara is alright. She basks in the soft moans that are already spilling out of her mouth as she licks a sloppy trail up through her folds, settling at the apex and beginning to suck gently as a strangled cry escapes Kara’s throat. Lena continues to work her over with her tongue until her entire body seizes up and then goes limp beneath her. She doesn’t stop until she is positive that Kara is done, and then slowly makes her way back up to settle beside her.

 

“Are you alright?” Lena asked softly as she rested her head on Kara’s chest.

 

“That was.. Oh my god.. You’re amazing.” she panted, still trying to get her breathing under control as she drew lazy patterns on the bare skin of Lena’s back.

 

They spent the entire evening in bed, getting up only to pay the delivery guy for the pizza that they had ordered before immediately jumping back beneath the sheets and eating it wrapped up in the sheets. When they were both completely spent and neither one of them could keep their eyes open any longer, Kara switched on a movie and the pair of them quickly drifted off to sleep.

 

When Lena wakes a few hours later she spends a little time taking in the sight before her. Kara is fast asleep, drooling slightly onto her pillow and mumbling nonsense about whatever dream she is currently having. The thick sheets on Lena’s bed have slipped down to her waist and Lena almost feels like a creep for being unable to stop staring at her form, but god she’s just so pleasant to look at. It’s moments like these when she really feels the full extent of her feelings for the girl currently laying beside her. She knows that she’s young, she’s barely just turned eighteen, but she can’t imagine spending her life with anyone else. She wants to wake up in the middle of the night to the very sight that is currently laying before her, she wants to spend all of her holidays with Eliza and Alex and Maggie by the sea in Midvale. She wants cheesy movie nights where Kara sings along to all of the songs and Lena pretends to hate it even though she knows that Kara doesn’t buy her act for a second. She wants new years kisses beneath the fireworks and lazy Sunday’s together in bed. She wants a life with Kara, and maybe, just maybe, that’s exactly what she’ll get.

 

The two of them taking on the rest of the world together.

 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I applaud you if you actually made it to the end of this story, thank you so much for reading!!

**Author's Note:**

> come yell at me on twitter @littleiuthor x


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